Lost
by AnimeFan202
Summary: Four years ago, Kari Kamiya was a happy little girl with two loving parents and an older brother she adored. One night brought this all crashing down, leaving Tai and six others mysteriously missing. Now, with the appearance of a boy with more than a few secrets, Kari may finally be closing in on some long-awaited answers.
1. Memories

**Hello, all. Welcome to my story. I have been trying (and struggling) to write a Digimon story I could be proud of practically since I first made an account. (An adventure-type story, I mean. If you could kindly ignore the crappy romances that haven't been revised since I was, like, twelve…) Some of you have been with me through both of the first attempts being started, partially written, and then taken down. If that's the case, you may see elements of both of those stories in this one, but the idea behind it is a little different, and I'm excited to write it. This may just be the one, guys… Fingers crossed.**

 **Chapter One: Memories**

It was that time of year again. For everyone else, early spring was marked by warmer temperatures and returning greenery. For Kari Kamiya, it meant a silent house—her father logging long hours at the office, her mother spending most of the day in bed.

Today had been no exception. She had not seen a glimpse of either of her parents all morning. And now, as she left for school, Kari closed the door behind her as quietly as possible. The anniversary had snuck up on her this year. But, like a chemical reaction, her parents' moods had changed drastically from one day to the next.

Four years ago, Kari had been a normal, happy little girl with two loving parents and an older brother she adored. And then, one night, everything had come crashing down. The destruction of her old neighborhood would later be blamed on a terrorist cell that fell apart shortly after, but the night would have much longer-lasting effects for Kari.

Tai Kamiya was hardly the only child reported missing that night, but his story did grow to become one of the biggest mysteries. Tai had been spotted helping other kids to safety by a multitude of people, but somewhere amidst the chaos, he had simply… disappeared. As the days passed and Tai didn't show up in any of the displaced victim centers… or as one of the identified deceased, a pervasive gloom began to take over the Kamiya household.

Kari herself had just felt numb for a long time. Having been separated from their parents early on, she had been the first child Tai brought to safety. She didn't waste her time with pointless 'if onlys'. Kari knew there was no use wishing Tai had stayed put when the sounds of the other children screaming had reached their ears. He was going to do what he could to help. It was just who Tai was.

There was a lot she could not remember from that night. And what she did came back to her in bits and pieces. It had been dark—the middle of a moonless night. The crashes and screams and sirens had gradually faded to background noise as she waited with increasing panic for her brother to return. Dust from the debris had covered the city in the following days. And she seemed to recall a total divide that night. Kari would swear she had only seen other children that night.

But she knew that part could not be true. The attack had occurred around one AM. Parents and children alike would have been asleep in bed, would have fled their homes together. Even so, Kari could not remember seeing a single adult before sunrise. Nor could she remember how she and Tai had gotten separated from their own parents in the first place.

For weeks afterward, the media ran stories of Tai's bravery, interviewing all the children and the parents of the children he'd helped to safety. Despite the mass relocation, quite a few grateful letters had made it to the Kamiyas' doorstep. But they were little consolation. Kari's parents didn't want the legacy of raising a hero. They just wanted their son back.

The change in the Kamiya household's 'After' had begun, for Kari, with the arrival of a very different sort of letter. This one was not thanking them or wishing them well. The tone of this letter was decidedly accusatory.

Once she got past the raw pain and anger, Kari had found the contents of the letter to be rather shocking. Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa's daughter was also still missing. They felt that, with the spotlight fixed so firmly on Tai, little was being done to find their Mimi. On the heels of her shock had been shame. Because she _hadn't_ heard of any other kids who were still missing. The attack had garnered a surprisingly low death toll. Apart from the pieces run on Tai, most reports had been overwhelmingly positive. Stories of authorities having _less_ to do than originally anticipated. Families were reunited in record time. Lists of the missing were reduced to half after just the first day. At the end of the first week, only the Kamiya family still seemed to be in turmoil.

That changed within a few days of the Tachikawas' letter's arrival. Clearly, they had gotten through to _someone_. And then, other reports started getting air time. Almost a month out from the attack, seven children were still missing.

Given the circumstances, seven was still remarkably few. But initially, Kari hadn't been able to wrap her head around it. She had been blown away by how small her world had apparently become, only being able to see her own family's woes. Meeting the other families in person had helped to make it real. There were still times when she forgot that this mystery was bigger than Tai, but slowly, through their families, Kari became acquainted with the other six.

Among the missing were Matt and TK, a pair of brothers whose parents were struggling to hold it together now after a messy divorce years earlier. Mimi, the well-loved only child of the wealthy couple who had first contacted the Kamiyas. Joe's family's primary worry was his ability to take care of himself, wherever he was. (Kari got the impression he'd never been the most stouthearted child.) Izzy's parents were distraught. They'd adopted him after a stillbirth and were having trouble accepting that tragedy had struck them twice. And lastly, Kari had been surprised to see Ms. Takenouchi. Tai had played soccer with her daughter for years. Kari had always liked Sora. It had been another blow to learn she was one of the missing.

It had been a therapeutic get-together, but in truth, the families of the missing were never as close after that first year, slowly falling out of contact.

There would be moments that felt like breakthroughs. Someone reported having seen Tai that night with a girl matching Mimi's description. Nothing ever came of this tip, but Kari suspected Mimi had been the last girl her brother had tried to help. Every child who'd been brought back to the shelter had later been claimed, so perhaps something had happened to them both before they could make it back.

And then, nearly a year later, the youngest of the group was found wandering the woods out by an old summer camp up in the mountains. TK was returned, unharmed, to his parents, and everyone else waited breathlessly to finally get some answers.

Amnesia. The word became the media's new weapon of choice. The boy who'd been so miraculously found couldn't remember a thing. They wouldn't be getting their answers after all. Kari had felt almost transported at the news—left to wander the forest where TK had been found, lost.

Slowly, the families drifted apart. What should have been a happy occasion seemed, to many, like the last straw. To be _this close_ only to fail, yet again… Each family experienced varying stages of acceptance. The public appeared to have reached the conclusion that the subjects of these tragic stories would never see their children again. Because that's what this was to the rest of the world. A tragic tale that could be turned off with the click of a button. For some, escape was not quite so easy.

And now, the four-year anniversary was approaching. Kari Kamiya was trying to get through her days as uneventfully as possible. Little did she know, her life was about to change drastically, yet again.

 **So… What did you think? I, at least, am confident that this is off to a much better start than the other two, and I'm excited to get this underway.**

 **I don't own Digimon.**


	2. Speculation

**So, I think (but don't quote me on this) that this chapter should be the darkest it gets. Let me explain. There's some drama and darkness yet to come, but it's going to be more fantasy world darkness, not totally out of place for Digimon. This chapter addresses some real world stuff.**

 **Also… I'd forgotten the high even just a few reviews could put me on. The only story I've worked on recently (and recently completed) was a story I'd come back to after a three-year hiatus. Suffice it to say it wasn't getting much traffic when I did start updating again. So to get five reviews on this story after less than a week…**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing chapter one:** Guest, ToastyToaster22, Shiki Shiori, **and** Sweet Cari **! Each of your reviews brought a smile to my face, and I hope you enjoy what comes next! (And I'll give you the benefit of the doubt too,** Messenger777 **. You probably won't be back to see this, but I'll assume you meant well.) Anyway…**

 **Chapter Two: Speculation**

The difference was striking. As soon as Kari closed the door behind her, the quiet of the morning became peaceful rather than haunting. Stepping out into the open-air hallway of their apartment building was like stepping into another world. Even with the anniversary date drawing so near, it felt almost like the day could be normal.

Kari took her regular route to school, ducking into the park to sit down on the bench. Yolei met her here every morning so they could walk the last stretch together. Today it felt like she spent an especially long time waiting on that bench, listening to the birds. But this was not so strange. Yolei's home life was a lot more chaotic than her own. It would not be the first day they ran into class just as the final bell rang. To be honest, Kari was a little grateful to her friend's last-minute mindset. Being late to class was such a banal sort of anxiety. A welcome distraction from her bigger worries.

"I'm here!" Yolei shouted breathlessly as she ran into view. Kari stood up with a smile. She was surprised to see Cody running along behind Yolei. Cody was a younger boy who lived in Yolei's building. He was very studious and responsible. He walked with them sometimes too—but usually only on the rare day that Yolei was on time. Otherwise, he would go on ahead. And now he seemed to be berating her as he struggled to keep up.

"Five minutes!" Kari heard him say between pants. "You promised you'd be out in five minutes!"

"I know; I'm sorry! Momoe was taking forever in the shower, and I still had to brush my teeth—"

Kari's laugh cut her off. Rather than waiting for the other two to come to a stop for her, Kari fell into step beside Yolei. Upon reaching the school, their paths split. Cody did not wait long enough to catch his breath to say goodbye, and—true to form—the two girls reached their desks in homeroom in the nick of time. Their teacher gave the two a very pointed look but continued on with the morning announcements as usual.

It was shaping up to be a regular Thursday. Her first few classes passed by painlessly. She and Yolei passed notes throughout their math lesson. The test in geography allowed her to ignore Davis's dramatic attempts to get her attention. It was only once they returned to homeroom before the lunch break that Kari began to ponder the coming week.

The fourth anniversary of the attack fell on a Monday this year. She'd gotten lucky on years two and three, but the first anniversary had been awful. The school had put together a special assembly in memoriam, and Kari had felt like all eyes were on her. A few of her classmates had lost family in the destruction, but she was the one with the famously missing brother. There hadn't been anything in the morning announcements today, but Kari thought she'd seen their teacher give her a look. Tai's disappearance was a constant reality in her household, but she kind of wished the rest of the world could move on.

"Kari, are you listening?"

She jumped a little at the sound of Yolei's voice. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized Cody had joined them at their lunch table. She smiled with a little laugh and said, "Sorry, guys. I guess I just have a lot on my mind lately."

"That's understandable," Cody said in his typical solemn way.

Well, there went her reprieve. It took a moment for Yolei to make the connection, and when she did, she slapped her hand over her mouth with a little gasp.

"She was just complaining about something her older brother did this morning," Cody explained when Kari gave her a quizzical look.

"You didn't have to tell her if she didn't hear it!" Yolei hissed, perfectly audible to all. To Kari, she said, "I'm so sorry, Kari! I wasn't even thinking about the date! Me and my big mouth again, huh?"

Kari brought her hands up placatingly. Yolei's remorseful expression was making _her_ feel bad. "It's okay, Yolei, really. I don't want you guys to feel weird talking about it just because I'm here." After all, that night had been a tragedy that had befallen the whole city, not just her family.

It wasn't like she hadn't talked to Yolei about Tai in the past. The two shared practically everything. In fact, she liked the way Yolei tended to get caught up in the Inoue family's more mundane problems. Yolei's house was always so loud and energetic. A welcome change from her own.

"If that's the case, I've been thinking about that night a lot lately, too," said Cody.

"Are you sure?" Yolei asked, her eyes swinging from one to the other.

"Positive," said Kari. "What's on your mind, Cody?"

"Motive," he answered matter of factly.

"Motive?" the girls questioned together.

He nodded. "You two have noticed how the media hardly ever brings the incident up anymore, right? Why do you think that is?"

"I always thought they'd just moved on," said Kari. "I mean, there weren't actually that many casualties, and there's always a new tragedy to overshadow the ones that came before it..."

"That's true," said Cody. "But I think there's more to it than keeping up with current events. I think the authorities would prefer it if the public puts it out of their minds as soon as possible."

Yolei blinked blankly. "What are you getting at, Cody? Some sort of conspiracy theory?"

"No. And that's exactly my point. No one seems to have _any_ theories. No one who isn't relying on shallow gossip, that is." He sighed when they both continued to stare blankly at him, looking much older than his eleven years. "Initial reports blamed it on terrorism, right? But they never found the guys who did it."

"But there was that terrorist cell that disbanded shortly afterwards, right?" Yolei pointed out. "I thought they were to blame."

"Convenient, wasn't it?" said Cody. "I think the government was hoping everyone would jump to that conclusion, but I've watched all the news reports surrounding the attack, and they never come right out and blame anyone directly. And no one was ever charged with anything. And actually, the terrorism angle doesn't make a lot of sense. Terrorists want to make their presence known. They destroy things of symbolic importance, like government buildings, to make some sort of point. What could possibly be to gain from a low-casualty, anonymous attack on a bunch of residential apartment complexes?"

"Wow, Cody. It sounds like you've done more research on that night than I have," said Kari, impressed.

He shrugged humbly, twirling his chopsticks between his fingers. "Maybe. I just can't stand an unsolved mystery. But there's more. Whoever's responsible, no one really knows _how_ they did it. There was fire and water damage, but the bomb squads couldn't find any evidence of explosives or accelerants. In a lot of places, it looked like something had hit the buildings from the _outside_ , but all the debris was 'clean.' No unnatural, external sources."

"How weird," said Yolei. She still seemed a little bewildered at the turn their conversation had taken.

"And that's without factoring in all the holes in the missing kids case." Cody glanced quickly at Kari before moving forward. "It's like they just vanished into thin air."

"Given the circumstances, that's not so strange," Yolei jumped in. "I mean, the street was almost totally destroyed, and every kid in the city was out that night. In all that chaos, it would be almost impossible to find any clues, and it's a miracle _anyone_ remembers seeing them."

Kari slowly pushed her lunch tray away from her. This discussion had stolen her appetite. The most popular theory—among all those gossipmongers Cody had mentioned—was that a serial killer had kidnapped the missing. There _had_ been a series of child disappearances throughout the previous years, and those disappearances had never started up again after the attack. Best guess was that he'd either died during the attack and never been identified as the perpetrator… Or he'd grabbed as many kids as possible during the chaos and split.

But, as with the terrorism theory, there were holes in this explanation, just like Cody said. For example, every single one of the kids who'd gone missing in the past had been found within a few months… dead. For a while, the attack had gotten so much attention, every police station in the country had the missing's DNA on file. If their remains had shown up _anywhere_ , news would have gotten back to the families by now.

Kari could tell her friends' thoughts had kept pace with her own. Yolei broke the contemplative silence with, "It's super weird that nothing _ever_ showed up, though. I mean, apart from TK."

It was strange to hear his name pass someone else's lips. Kari forgot sometimes how widely publicized his discovery had been. At the time, it had felt like an event occurring in a realm made up exclusively of the six families.

"Not necessarily," Cody broke in grimly. "Not if he had some way to dispose of the bodies."

There was a single beat of heavy silence.

"That's so _dark_ , Cody! I say they're alive until we get proof otherwise!" Yolei again. Too loud and too cheerful. With another nervous glance at Kari.

But Kari smiled at her gratefully. "I'd like to think so too. But it's not as if I haven't thought about it. I've done my own research. If they were all being kept prisoner by the same person, chances are they would have outgrown his… preferences by now. Kids grow up a lot between twelve and sixteen."

"If that is what happened, it makes sense that he let TK go. He was too young." Cody looked a little uncomfortable at the turn this conversation had taken. Clearly, he preferred speculating about bombs and logistics rather than human evils.

"I disagree," said Yolei. Then, at their surprised looks, she blushed and said defensively, "What? I've done some research too. I've been friends with Kari for too long not to wonder. And I don't see why they wouldn't just keep TK. You know, to like… 'groom' him until he was the right age. At the very least, they wouldn't keep him for a whole year and then just let him go… Amnesia from some sort of trauma usually only pops up after the victim has gotten to safety, right? So how could they be sure he wouldn't give away all their secrets?"

"They…" Cody repeated thoughtfully.

"I've always thought it must be more than one person," Kari jumped in. "I don't see how a single kidnapper could control six teenagers and a little boy for even one night, never mind years."

Almost subconsciously, the three had leaned closer over the table, lowering their voices. Kari was solemn, Cody thoughtful. Yolei appeared almost fearful.

"So what are we looking at?" she whispered. "Some sort of trafficking ring?"

"To be honest," said Cody slowly, "that might be the best bet of finding them alive."

The bell rang then, signaling the end of lunch and their dreary discussion. But for an extra moment or two, none of them moved.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **I worried as I was writing this chapter that it may seem a little strange for a bunch of twelve-year-olds to be brainstorming this sort of thing… I'm gonna go with the exposure excuse. That they had a legitimate reason to be knowledgeable about things like… say… serial killers and pedophiles because they were caught up in the middle of this mystery that your average kid there age hasn't experienced. For Kari, at least, it holds personal significance, and you can extend the same to Yolei—being her best friend and all. With Cody, I'm gonna say he's just that kind of kid—always looking for answers to everything.**

 **Also, I do have the first few chapters already written out. I'm trying not to burn through my updates too quickly. Like I mentioned at the top, reviews can have a drug-like power. Even so, I probably would have been able to curb my excitement. It's just that the first chapter was so short… I plan to keep updating in a timely manner. Just maybe not quite as quickly as this one came out. Thank you for reading!**


	3. Transfer

**I might have mentioned this already, but I'm trying something new with this story… I'm trying to keep a few chapters ahead (written) of what I have posted. So far so good. It is a little odd though, mentally, to go straight from writing one chapter further along in the story to backtrack to type up an earlier chapter to post. I'm going to try to keep this up, though.**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing chapter two:** Sweet Cari, Shiki Shiori, Patachu, **and** ToastyToaster22 **!** **I loved reading them all!**

 **Chapter Three: Transfer**

By Friday, it seemed like everything had returned to normal. Cody joined the girls at their lunch table again, but no more was said on the subject of the 'terrorist' attack or the missing kids. Yolei respectfully neglected to make any plans with Kari over the weekend, allowing her to spend all her time with her family. At the risk of sounding rude, Kari almost wished it wasn't so. The gloom plaguing the Kamiya household was more tangible than ever.

In the end, Kari had made up a research paper due soon and retreated to her room for the majority of the weekend. Though she doubted her parents really noticed her absence, Kari fell victim to guilt, holed up in her room for hours at a time. It was not as if she didn't love Tai. She cherished every memory she had of her brother. They'd been partners in crime since before Kari could even talk. He'd been her first best friend. A symbol of bravery and courage whenever she was up against some daunting task. Tai's sudden disappearance had sucked all the light out of the world, further emphasized by the haze of dust that had hung over the city in the following days, dulling the sunshine.

But in the past four years, Kari had learned that you couldn't rely on another person to supply your light. Their lives had continued on, even in spite of Tai not being there to share his with them. She had no intention of leaving Tai in the past, but she couldn't remain there herself either. Tai would not have wanted their lives to be swallowed up by endless wallowing, wherever he was. Because Kari _did_ believe he was still out there somewhere. And sooner or later, this awful waiting, this torture of not knowing, would come to an end. The answers were out there. She just hadn't found the right place to look for them yet.

 **…**

Once again, Kari tried to treat Monday as a normal day. Neither girl mentioned the significance of the date on their walk to school, and Kari didn't catch too many curious glances in the hallways. It truly seemed like everyone was moving on. The day might have been uneventful… if not for the bomb her teacher dropped in homeroom that morning.

Kari and Yolei were in their seats before he was even in the room, though certainly not because they were early. The room was overtaken by whispers and searching looks as the final bell rang and their teacher still had not joined them. But the growing excitement did not have long to fester. Their teacher did enter the room soon enough, a friendly-looking blond boy following him in.

Immediately, every voice fell silent, awaiting an explanation. The boy stood before the class without a hint of self-consciousness, blue eyes sparkling. He took off his hat to be polite and bowed his head to his new classmates as their teacher cleared his throat to speak.

"Class, we have a transfer student joining us today."

The boy took over smoothly. "It's nice to meet you all. My name's Takeru Takaishi. You can call me TK. My family and I just moved to this district. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you."

More than one girl sat up a little straighter at TK's introduction—apparently, he was making quite the first impression—but none so sharply as Kari. She couldn't say she'd known immediately that something was familiar about TK. They'd never met; he'd only been eight years old in the only pictures she'd ever seen of him. But the recognition sent a little thrill through her stomach. Of all the days for TK to transfer into _her_ class… Could it possibly be a mere coincidence?

Beside her, Yolei giggled. "He _is_ kind of cute, don't you think?"

Her whisper barely touched her. And Davis's grumbling garnered even less of a reaction. Kari didn't answer her friend. He was looking at her. She hadn't been sure at first, but TK wasn't just looking out over the class as a whole. _She_ was his focal point, Kari was sure of it. Had _he_ recognized _her_ on sight?

"Kari, what's wrong?" Yolei whispered. Kari just shook her head and looked down. No, she must be imagining it. She was sure _every_ girl whispering hopefully in this class thought TK was looking at them. After all, why would TK have taken a special interest in _her_? What a backwards thought. _She_ wasn't the one who'd made a miraculous reappearance, been the subject of every media outlet's top story for a straight week. She was just one more piece in the network of families that had not been reunited with their loved ones. For all she knew, TK wasn't even aware of their group status.

"Um, yes," the teacher cut back in awkwardly. "Well, welcome to the class, TK. Why don't you take the seat behind Kari? Miss Kamiya?"

Kari looked up then and raised her hand to direct him to his seat. TK smiled and nodded at her. (She was now more convinced than ever that he had already been looking at her.) "Great."

Kari tried to smile welcomingly as he passed her but groaned silently. Why couldn't the empty desk have been the one in _front_ of hers? Now she was going to be fighting the urge to turn around and look at him all period. She was struck by the sudden, irrational feeling that if only he was somewhere in her periphery, she could speculate in peace.

Their teacher went on with the morning announcements as usual. He didn't mention the anniversary as she had feared, but Kari had given up on any chance of this being just another day the moment TK had walked into the room. She couldn't wrap her head around the question of coincidence. Because really, _what were the chances_? She was desperate to talk it over with someone, and all morning, classes dragged.

She rushed through the lunch line and wasn't displeased to see Cody at their lunch table again. She must have had a crazed sort of look on her face, because the younger boy was immediately a little more alert. "What's wrong, Kari?"

She just shook her head and waited for Yolei to arrive. And when her friend did join them, she had the same question.

"What's going on? You've been weird all morning." Yolei turned to Cody. "This new boy transferred into our class today. You should have seen the way all the other girls perked up. But Kari just got really quiet. What was his name?"

"TK," she replied, almost before Yolei had even finished the question. Kari had leaned forward, the sense of urgency returned. She felt almost like a pact had been formed amongst the three of them the day they'd started theorizing about the night that had changed her life. "That was _him_ , Yolei. The one they found."

Her friend's eyebrows shot up. Both Yolei and Cody seemed to understand at once. They'd all leaned in, Yolei's voice dropping to a whisper. "Found? You mean like—"

"Hi. Mind if I sit here?" They all jumped, scooting back and looking up with expressions that were most certainly guilty. TK stood before them, lunch tray in his hands, smile in place. If he knew they'd just been talking about him, it didn't show.

Yolei was the first to recover. "Oh! Of course!"

"Thanks." TK's smile seemed to grow even brighter, and he set his tray down beside Cody's so that he was facing the two girls.

"Cody, this is TK," Yolei introduced without missing a beat. "He just transferred into our class today."

"It's nice to meet you, TK," Cody greeted, polite as ever.

"Same here." He began eating, and Kari felt free to let her eyes search his face. What she was searching for, she wasn't really sure. She'd only met him that morning, but TK seemed so genuine and easygoing and open. In a way, this made him seem simple, too. Like he had nothing to hide.

He looked up at her then. The smile hadn't left his face, but she hadn't exactly been subtle about her staring. Kari felt her mouth fall open just the slightest bit with the intent to smooth over her faux pas. It occurred to her that she hadn't actually said a word to him yet.

TK beat her to it. "It's probably best to clear the air as soon as possible, huh? You're Kari Kamiya, right? Tai's sister."

She had to admit, his phrasing sent a little thrill through her stomach. Here was someone, sitting right across from her, who had seen Tai after that last night. She had to remind herself that this didn't mean what it should have before speaking. "Right. And you're the one they found."

His smile grew even wider at her response, which felt a little brash in hindsight. But then, perhaps it was only fitting. After all, he had been equally direct. "That's where the nickname came from, you know. I got asked so often—you're that kid they found, aren't you? I started to feel more like That Kid than Takeru. So I became TK. I mean, it fit well with my name anyway, and Matt started calling me TK back before I could remember any different, so I guess it was more like letting the rest of the world in on it rather than taking on an entirely new identity."

This mention of his brother fit so naturally into the rest of his speech, though it caught all three of the others off guard for a moment.

But you really can't remember anything?" She whispered before she could stop herself.

His smile was so apologetic. "Sorry. Nothing."

They all jumped again as another lunch tray clanged down loudly on the other side of Kari. She looked over to see Davis with a stubbornly contrary look on his face. And his tone was not as friendly as it usually was. "So, found yourself a group already, huh, TJ?"

"TK." Even his correction was no harsher than neutral. "And yeah, I think so."

Davis huffed childishly and muttered, "Yeah, well, don't get too comfortable…"

"What is your problem, Davis?" Yolei snapped. "Jealousy is really unbecoming, you know."

"What?! What do I have to be jealous of, Yolei?!" he shot back.

"Oh, come on! It's not like this thing you have for Kari is subtle!"

"Like _you'd_ know anything about being subtle!"

This bickering between them was not uncommon. It seemed to irritate Yolei more than Kari herself whenever Davis took to hovering around her like a lost, lovesick puppy. Across the table, Cody looked exasperated, but Kari was a little relieved by the interruption. It had broken her focus. She no longer had to worry about blurting out her next questions before she really thought them through. Because there was no way to ask what she really wanted to know.

Perhaps he really didn't remember anything consciously. But what about subconsciously? Were there any nightmares he couldn't make sense of? Physical scars he couldn't explain? Other evidence of what he went through over the course of that year? Any hint of what had been so horrific that his mind had apparently blocked it all out…

TK's lighthearted laughter put a stop to the pair's argument. "Sorry. I didn't realize Kari was your girlfriend."

"I'm _not_ his girlfriend," Kari asserted firmly at the same time Davis tried, "…Yeah, that's right."

TK laughed again, and the bell signaling the end of lunch put an end to their conversation. Only Davis was still grumbling as they rose and began collecting their things. The five of them certainly made for an odd little group. Looking around at them all, Kari got the feeling she hadn't seen the last of the surprises coming her way.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **It doesn't feel quite right to say I'm getting excited for this story… Because I've been excited since the beginning. But now the written progress of this story is reaching the part where the story really starts to take off. In a few days I'll be on a college orientation trip, so I'm planning to spend the hours on the plane writing and getting as far ahead as possible. (One of the main reasons I want to stay ahead is because I'm transferring to a college quite a distance away, and I have no idea what my schedule will be like yet. I'm hoping the change won't cause a noticeable delay in updates.) If I make enough progress during my trip, you may be seeing another update really soon. Until then, this is it for chapter three!**


	4. Absent

**The college trip had its ups and downs, but I did manage to get the chapter finished… I've got most of this planned out… I have been playing with some ideas though to possibly switch some stuff up… But because nothing's final yet, I'm curious about my readers' input… You know by now that this story will mostly center around the kids from the first two seasons. But season three and four were part of my childhood and dear to my heart also. I'm considering adding them in a little later into the story. I have a way they could fit in, but I could also tweak those plans to leave it at just the Adventure and 02 crowd. Thoughts?**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing chapter three:** Guest, ToastyToaster22, **and** Sweet Cari! **Much appreciated!**

 **Chapter Four: Absent**

The shelter was little more than a big, empty warehouse. Its electricity had been knocked out, just as the lights were out in every other building that night. But the warehouse was on the other side of the river, and that made it feel just the tiniest bit safer. However, the sounds of destruction were still reaching them loud and clear, and the sirens sounded too far off to be reassuring.

A particularly high-pitched shriek cut through the others. Kari had been watching her brother quickly losing patience with simply sitting back and waiting. This last sound had him shooting to his feet. "That's it. I'm going back out."

"What?" She couldn't say she hadn't been expecting it, but the declaration sent a jolt of terror through her all the same. "But you can't! You said it yourself; it's not safe."

He kneeled back down to be on her level and smiled reassuringly. This image burned very clearly in her memory. It was so quintessential Tai. His warm brown eyes, his confident grin. Tai's hair—always wild—seemed to be sticking up in a few extra places. Unsurprising, given they'd both been asleep in bed not an hour earlier.

"There are people out there who need my help," he explained in as gentle a voice as Tai had ever managed. She remembered being annoyed at the time that he had trusted her as an equal on so many other 'missions' in the past, but now, when it really mattered, he was treating her like a kid.

"I want to help too," she'd protested, unwilling to be left behind in the dark.

"No." And he'd seemed almost panicked at the thought. "I need you to stay here, where it's safe."

"But why? _You're_ not staying where it's safe," she'd accused, dangerously close to tearing up.

He had definitely picked up on the tremble in her voice, and his eyes softened further. "I won't be able to concentrate, knowing you're out there with me. And I need someone to stay here and convince all the other kids I bring back to stay put. Your job is just as important, you see? You're my right-hand man."

"Woman," she corrected automatically, but this familiar slip-up, of all things, was what finally managed to reassure her. More solemnly, she promised, "Always."

His grin became cheerful and confident once more. "I wouldn't dream of replacing you." He straightened up. "All right. I'll be back soon. I'm counting on you."

 **…**

The blaring of her alarm clock put an abrupt end to the dream, not that there was much more to it. She'd remained in that shelter all night, living up to her promise. She was younger than many of the kids Tai sent her way, but she made sure to be the first friendly face each new arrival saw, welcoming them inside, drifting from one group to another to make sure no one's spirits ever dropped too far.

But Tai had not upheld his end of the deal. He did not return as promised. That parting scene had been the last time she'd seen him until—Kari still had not been able to finish that sentence. It would remain open-ended until their reunion, whenever that may be.

"Kari, are you awake yet?" she heard her mother call from down the hall. She was pleased to hear an alertness that had not been in her mother's voice these past few days. Perhaps her parents were finally recovering as well.

"I'm getting up now," she called back, finally silencing her alarm.

She did not have to wonder why that particular memory came back to her now, and in such startling clarity. Kari suspected TK's sudden appearance in her life must have stirred up something in the back of her mind. Perhaps as some way to compensate for his own amnesia.

As she got out of bed and dressed for the day, her mind drifted to the other families. She'd mentally marked TK's return as the moment they all started drifting apart. But there had always been a divide between the families. She hadn't fully understood it at the time. To eight-year-old Kari, loss was loss. But she could see now the fundamental difference between those who had lost their child… And those who had lost their _only_ child. For a short while, TK's parents had been the most tragic of all. The only pair to have lost all of their children… And then the only pair to have been reunited with one.

"Hey, Mom?" she spoke suddenly, looking up from her breakfast. She could tell from the look on her mother's face that she'd been interrupted. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine. You've been distracted all morning. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah. Um, I was wondering… Do you ever hear from the Takaishis?"

"I believe they're the Ishidas, actually… If I remember correctly, Takaishi was Nancy's maiden name. Though I suppose she may have taken it back after their divorce…" her mother began tangentially. "But no, I haven't spoken to either of them in years. Why do you ask?"

"It's just… TK transferred into my class yesterday."

"Really?" Her mother's hands had stilled where she was washing dishes at the sink. "What's he like?"

Her mother seemed just as curious as she had been. Kari supposed TK was still something of a mystery to her. She just couldn't help feeling like there was something yet to be seen underneath that smile of his. So she worded her answer carefully. "I guess… I don't really know yet. He seems nice. But he's kind of hard to read."

Her mother seemed to relax, smiling sympathetically. "Well, it has only been one day. Perhaps you two will be good for each other. I'm sure he's under a lot of pressure from this whole mess too."

It was the closest her mother had ever come to addressing that night directly. As far as Kari could remember, after the initial panic, it had been as if her mother could not bear to speak aloud of the tragedy that had befallen them. Sure, she had been the one to bring him up, but… Already, this was the effect TK was having on her life. And she knew this was just the beginning.

 **…**

But the more drastic changes she was on guard for were slow coming. The difference in Kari's daily routine was more of a shift than a change.

TK had indeed seemed to have 'found his group' as Davis had put it. A group that Davis had also apparently become a member of, at least as long as TK was hanging around. And Cody, perhaps drawn by the power struggle, was spending a lot more time with them as well. Well, maybe 'power struggle' wasn't the right word for it. But TK's responses to Davis's challenges were becoming increasingly glib. Kari was convinced he was playing some sort of game here—a game sure to go right over Davis's head. But even she couldn't be sure of this game's point. Once again, she took to wondering what was hiding behind that smile. At any rate, the days when it was just Kari and Yolei at their lunch table were long gone.

And, once the initial shock had passed, the new group dynamic was surprisingly easy to adapt to. Kari would even say she enjoyed the banter between Davis and Yolei. Her days were certainly a lot livelier at least. But then, just as Kari was starting to settle into this new routine, TK threw her for a loop once again.

The week had been nothing unusual thus far. Just the ordinary monotony of classes. Spring had settled in as well, beginning to more closely resemble summer. The warm weather was beginning to take its toll on the students, making them restless for the extended summer break. Already, their talk at the lunch table had moved on to plans for that break. Plans involving all five of them. They truly had become one unit.

And then, one day, TK was missing from homeroom. It was his first absence since he'd transferred to their school and, up until lunch, Kari had been certain he was merely late. She wasn't sure why she had been so surprised when only four people were present at their table. Everyone got sick sometimes, right? She knew that well enough herself. And it was an especially nice day. It was possible he was just ditching. They'd only been acquainted for a few weeks. Perhaps this was entirely in the norm for TK. Even so, something about his absence just didn't sit right with her.

No one else was terribly concerned. Like Kari, they assumed he was just sick or playing hooky. Davis didn't seem to care why TK was absent. He just seemed to be glad for a chance to relax from his 'guard' duties. Yolei lamented their own responsibility when they could be out enjoying the sunshine too.

"What I wouldn't give to be at the beach right now," she groaned, glancing down distastefully at the lackluster school lunch on the table before her before addressing Kari directly. "We should take a leaf out of TK's book if it's this warm again tomorrow."

Cody smirked, one of his rare teasing moments. "They probably wouldn't even mark you late until first period was over… given your usual attitude when it comes to punctuality."

Yolei was taken aback for a moment but was surprised out of her stupor by Kari's sudden laughter. Davis—who'd been searching his mind to define 'punctuality'—laughed along with her easily, and the conversation effortlessly moved on to the next topic.

The other three were equally unconcerned when TK didn't show up the next day either, though by day three, they were all at least a little worried. Even Davis lost his smug smile. It just wasn't in his nature to hold petty grudges. Kari had to give him points for that. He may have been an idiot, but he was a pure-hearted idiot.

The weekend gave her worries a break, but they returned full force on Monday morning when the final bell rang, yet there was still no sign of TK. They were all wearing grim expressions when they gathered at the lunch table.

"Maybe he's, like, _really_ sick," Yolei mused. "I haven't heard of anything going around, but…"

"I don't suppose any of you knows where he lives?" Kari asked without much hope. "Or even a phone number?"

She wasn't terribly surprised when they all shook their heads.

"Now that you mention it, TK hasn't shared much of anything about his personal life since we've known him," Cody commented quietly.

So she wasn't the only one to have noticed an air of mystery about him. TK always seemed to be holding something back. With no way to contact or check in on their new friend in person, Kari was left again to wonder what lurked behind TK's easygoing smiles.

 **…**

Tuesday morning found the two girls rushing into class at the last minute for the umpteenth time that year. Kari had just slid breathlessly into her seat when Davis appeared at her shoulder. She was surprised when he bent down to whisper in her ear—Davis wasn't exactly known for subtlety—but her gaze followed his finger as he pointed to the front of the room.

"Hey, look who's back," he whispered. Well, in Davis's approximation of a whisper, anyway.

She hadn't taken much notice of what exactly had her teacher distracted. (For in truth, she and Yolei had been at the tail end of that last minute.) But now the sight sent a little shock through her. It was TK standing up by the blackboard, discussing, no doubt, all the make-up work he must have after his long absence. Not that this seemed to worry him. Kari couldn't hear their conversation over the other students' chatter, but all she saw on his face was that now-familiar smile.

Yolei, having easily overheard Davis's whisper, had also turned to stare. TK didn't seem to notice as the teacher took his spot at the front of the room and he moved to take his seat behind Kari. At least, until Davis remained rooted to the spot, blocking his way.

"It's good to see you all again. I hope Cody is well too?" His easy deflection caught them all a little off-guard but, from this proximity, Kari thought she saw something a little bothered about his smile after all. Something sad.

"Dude, where have you _been_?" Davis wasn't one to be redirected so easily. "You just disappeared for, like, a week."

TK's smile never wavered. "This is a hard time of year for my family. I guess, in all the excitement of moving, it took a while to catch up to us."

"Mr. Motomiya, is there a problem?" Their teacher was an unenthusiastic sort of man, but he did hold some authority. The two boys finally returned to their seats, this conversation put on hold for now.

But, under the cover of the morning announcements, TK leaned forward and whispered, "I'm sorry if I worried you."

Kari just nodded, unsure what to think.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **And that's one more piece set up… We should be getting into the bigger story soon.**


	5. Sanity

**Rejoice! There was recently a poll in Japan where fans voted on the 100 greatest anime series of all time, and Digimon Adventure ranked at number eighteen! To put that into perspective, that means original Digimon ranked higher than One Piece, both Fullmetal Alchemist adaptations, Akira, Cowboy Bebop, Sailor Moon, and Pokemon. I thought I was finally past that old Digimon/Pokemon fan war, but this warmed my heart a bit… The people have spoken. We won. That is all. (Though, in general, I found this list to be really interesting when considering how Japanese audience's thoughts would have differed from a Western poll on the top 100 anime of all time.)**

 **On another note, I got two responses to my question about potentially including characters from seasons three and four. (One via review, the other PM.) First off, thank you both! That decision has now been made, which means the planning for this story is that much closer to being complete. I won't leave you in suspense. I am going to include those characters, (sorry, Guest) though the Adventure and 02 crowd will still be the main characters and play a bigger role. And it will be a while before their inclusion. Moving on!**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter four:** Guest, ToastyToaster22, **and** Elgv **! And thank you,** Angelfish369 **for reviewing chapter one!**

 **Chapter Five: Sanity**

Kari wondered if TK could tell something had shifted in their group dynamic. Because, sympathetic as they may be, no one felt his explanation was enough. Kari figured that if anyone should be able to understand, it was her. She'd seen firsthand the effect each anniversary had on her own parents, and they were always at risk for an errant bad day, all year long. But even she didn't buy it. Not completely. Kari had learned long ago that her intuition was usually pretty good, and something about TK just wasn't right.

Meanwhile, her dreams were getting worse. At first, they were just snatches of memory from that night. Like that last exchange she'd had with Tai. But now, the images were becoming more and more nonsensical. Just last night, she'd found herself on the streets of her old neighborhood again. It had been earlier during that last night, as Tai was leading her to the shelter. The image had been just a split second, really, but had lasted the entire night as only a dream could. She had stopped to stare in horror at a building that was half destroyed, rubble piled up in heaps taller than the remaining streetlamps. She had seen something else amidst the wreckage. Something that didn't belong.

A feather, at least twice as long as she was tall. Kari had watched as, before her eyes, the feather had disintegrated. It had been like something was eating away at it until the feather had vanished completely. By the time Tai had turned back, urging her forward, it was like the feather had never been there at all.

And that had been the entire dream. It was so bizarre. The logical part of her brain told her it had to be a figment of her imagination. Something to fill the space left behind when most of the details from that night had faded. But it had presented as a memory… And she could remember it so clearly…

Hadn't Cody said no one had been able to figure out what had caused the damage?

 _What exactly are you suggesting?_ that logical sector shot back. _That some giant bird materialized just long enough to destroy the city? And then what? Broke up into molecular fragments and was carried away on the breeze?_

She figured it wasn't a good sign that this idea didn't sound quite as crazy as it should.

"What's wrong?" TK asked, and she realized she had sighed aloud. They were on their way to history, the only class she didn't have with Yolei or Davis. Followed by gym, the only class all four had together. It was the final stretch of what had felt like an incredibly long day, and now she'd been caught daydreaming.

She laughed a little awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, uh, nothing. I guess I just zoned out there for a minute. I haven't been sleeping all that well."

"Up late studying for next week's finals?" he guessed with a smile.

"Not as much as I probably should be," she admitted, glad for his assumption. She didn't really want to go into her dreams. "You?"

"Same," he said without a hint of shame. "But I'm not that worried."

Kari tried to study him discreetly as they took their seats and the teacher called the class to order. Not that anything ever seemed to bother TK, but she was a little surprised he didn't appear even a bit worried. Considering he'd just moved here and then missed a week's worth of material so close to finals. Perhaps he was just a really good student.

Speaking of… She really did _try_ to focus. Their history teacher wasn't one to take it easy on them—even at the end of the school year—and she always had trouble remembering all the right dates for each event. But her eyelids were just growing heavier and heavier… It wasn't sleepiness, exactly. More like her brain was being swallowed up by a fog.

Before she knew it, her eyesight began to blur, her classmates growing fuzzier around her. Kari felt a stab of alarm through the fog. She'd often been sickly as a child, and she knew what it felt like to faint. But, despite the blurred vision, most of the usual warning signs were absent. She still felt pleasantly cool, though it was a little strange that the breeze seemed to be blowing on her so directly, given the windows were on the other side of the room. And her ears weren't _ringing_ , exactly. Though a sound almost like waves lapping at a shore was filling her mind.

Kari looked down and gasped. Water? Was the school flooding? Why hadn't anyone else noticed? But when she looked back up, the entire classroom had vanished.

It was like the fog had leaked out of her mind to become a physical thing. And it was endless, leaving Kari and her desk adrift in a foot of water. For the first minute she was frozen, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Had she fallen asleep in class? Or had she officially lost it and started hallucinating?

Before she could come up with a plan, a light floated into her field of vision through the fog. She watched as it drifted nearer. As it got closer, Kari saw that it really was floating. It was a lantern, attached to a small wooden boat that was drifting through the water. Something about that bobbing lantern was utterly captivating. Maybe it was the total nothingness of their surroundings. She remained perfectly still as it drew nearer, waiting to see how this dream or hallucination panned out.

Slowly, the boat parted around her desk. She peered over the side as it passed her by, and she stiffened at what she saw, her breath catching. Tai was lying in that boat. He was curled up on his side and looked as if he could be asleep.

Kari jerked back to life as the tail end of the boat passed by. She was on her feet in an instant, desperate for another glimpse. And then…

"Miss Kamiya, please wait for the bell."

And just like that, it was all back. Kari looked around and saw a classroom in the familiar disarray of a lesson ending. Their teacher's reprimand had had to fight to be heard over the commotion of all the students packing up their things. She was the first one out of her seat, but the bell did indeed ring before she had a chance to sit back down. No one else seemed to notice her odd behavior, and soon she couldn't even see the teacher through the crowd of her classmates mobbing the door.

"That was painful," TK said from his spot beside her, and for one muddled second, she thought he was talking about the fog and the boat. Neither of them had joined the rush to get out the door. "I don't think there's anything more boring than exam review."

"Uh, yeah." She took a deep breath, tried to calm her racing mind. "I'd think you'd be grateful for it, though. Given the time you missed."

TK just shrugged and smiled. "Nah, I'm all caught up. Being stuck at home for a week gave me plenty of time for studying."

She'd almost forgotten that TK was still sticking to that story. That his parents had gotten antsy around the date of the anniversary and needed to keep him close for a while. She still felt a little guilty for doubting him, but she also genuinely believed that there was more to the story. And, though they hadn't discussed it outright, she knew her friends all felt the same. Speaking of…

Davis and Yolei were already waiting for them across the hall, squabbling away about whatever the most recent conflict was. They were meeting up to head to the last class of the day. The only one they all shared together. Gym. Not a bad way to unwind after a long day of classes. Usually.

Kari wasn't sure she was up for it today. She hadn't had the time to process whatever had happened back there. Her dreams had been getting increasingly bizarre lately, but she was positive she hadn't fallen asleep. Which left her with what exactly? Her mind kept shying away from what felt like the obvious answer—that her hold on her sanity was quickly slipping away.

"Kari?" Yolei's voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you okay? You're looking kind of pale."

"Yeah… I'm fine." It didn't sound the slightest bit convincing. Not even to her own ears. Even Davis picked up on it. He came closer and leaned in uncomfortably close.

"Did something happen?" Like a rubber band snapping back, he turned accusatory eyes on TK. "Well? Did you see anything, TC?"

"There was nothing to see. It was just another boring history lesson. And I told you, it's TK."

At this point, Kari was pretty sure Davis was messing up his name just to irritate him. She sighed and intervened. "Relax, Davis. Nothing happened. I'm just tired."

They had reached the point where the group separated to continue on to the locker rooms. And Kari had to say she was grateful for the split. She knew she was acting strangely. She didn't need any extra pairs of eyes watching her every move while she tried to figure it out herself. Even TK was scrutinizing her, his eyes a little harder than usual. She scoffed inwardly. As if he had any right to be the suspicious one here.

Kari shook her head and brought a hand up to her temple as she and Yolei turned the corner, leaving the boys behind. What was wrong with her? When did she start thinking such ugly, suspicious thoughts?

"Sorry about that," Yolei said softly. "I didn't mean to make a spectacle of it. But are you sure you're okay?"

Kari sighed. "No… I don't know. I've just been having these weird dreams lately. And in class today, I thought I… saw something."

They had stopped outside the locker room door. The chatter inside was loud enough to drift out to them, but the hallway itself was quiet. Yolei was watching her with unmasked concern. "Saw something? Like what?"

"Oh… Nothing, really. Everything just got a little blurry for a minute." She held back at the last second. It wasn't that she didn't trust Yolei, but… This was something she felt she needed to keep to herself. At least for now. But this didn't seem to ease her friend's worries.

"Yeah? Maybe you should sit out today. Sleep it off in the nurse's office."

The _I'm fine_ was on the tip of her tongue. But Yolei gave her a particularly stern look and she sighed. "That's probably a good idea."

This seemed to appease Yolei, but she could already see the frown on their teacher's face as Kari headed for her little office rather than the row of gym lockers. It was rare for Kari to get on anyone's bad side. Authority figures in particular, like parents and teachers, loved her. But she'd never been the most athletic person, especially after being so frequently ill throughout her childhood. But with no official diagnosis of anything, teachers were loath to release her from lessons. And symptoms that weren't obvious—like dizziness or general pains—always came with the worst backlash.

Maybe it was the dread talking, but Kari couldn't help reflecting on the state of the gym teacher's tiny office as she hovered in the doorway. The counter was covered in paperwork and personal effects. The whole concept of this office giving the girls some privacy was sort of a joke. As if the prove this point, the teacher didn't even have to move to the doorway to take attendance. She was ticking off names from where she sat, watching them file in through the big window. At last, Kari cleared her throat. "Coach?"

She didn't even look her way. "Skipping out on us again, Miss Kamiya?"

Kari wished she was the type of person who could feel annoyed by her presumptuous, flat tone rather than guilty. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Well, that's your choice. At this point, grades are pretty much set. The chips will fall where they will."

Kari was pretty sure that wasn't how the phrase went, exactly, but she wisely kept her mouth shut as the teacher signed her pass without any more questions. She wasn't worried about her grade. She hadn't missed so many classes that she really needed to worry about attendance, and her scores in everything else were all good. Even so, she kept her head down as she left the locker room. She trusted Yolei to explain her absence to the boys.

Once she was back in the main hallway, on her way to the nurse's office, she was struck by the unnatural silence. A quiet school hallway always gave her the sense of being somewhere she didn't belong. But after a few more steps, she knew the feeling was something more than that.

Abruptly, she stopped. She was expecting the fog this time when it came to drown out the school around her. It was happening again.

Kari took a deep breath and tried to focus. She wouldn't be this clear-headed if she was truly losing it, right? So maybe these… visions were messages from her subconscious. Perhaps she remembered something more than she realized. Something important. After all, she had seen Tai in the last one.

So she was determined to remain calm this time. Channel Cody, maybe, and carefully analyze whatever she might encounter this time. But she couldn't contain a shriek as something small splashed past her. She hadn't even noticed the water rising up around her feet again, as if the school had flooded.

Kari shook her head, reminding herself that she was no longer _in_ the school hallway. She couldn't quite make out what had run past her. The fog was too thick, and the thing was still moving. With renewed resolve, she set off after it. Kari wasn't sure what exactly was hidden in this fog. She supposed she would just have to trust in her subconscious.

As Kari continued on, every single one of her muscles seemed to grow heavier. She was panting before she knew it. Something in this fog was seriously weighing her down. Kari reached a hand out to steady herself, realizing too late that there was nothing in this fog to lean up against… Only to find that her fingertips _did_ graze something solid. She stopped, immediately more alert.

Before her was a big stone something-or-other. Was it supposed to be a castle? If so, it appeared to be in the process of being torn down. Or… perhaps it was the other way around. Not run-down, but only half built. There was a polished look to the structures. Maybe that was the secret to this strange fog world. It was all a work in progress. Something not quite of this world and not quite whatever lay on the other side.

Kari made her way through the grounds of the castle, past incomplete staircases and bridges that ended halfway overhead. At last she came to a towering brick wall. It appeared finished, but there was a half-composed quote etched into the stone.

"Hope is being able to see that there is Light—"

She brought a finger up to her lips, pondering the line. It felt like something she would have to analyze in class. It did hold a certain truth, though, despite being incomplete. And the extra capitalization in 'light' was interesting. Hope and Light… Her eyes swung back and forth between those two points, almost as if the middle was totally inconsequential. But what was their significance?

A sudden wave of wooziness nearly overcame her again. Kari stumbled… right back into the hallway of her school. Behind her, she could already hear the gym class underway. And someone else could come walking down the hall any second now… But for a moment, Kari didn't move.

She couldn't get the unfinished quote out of her head. (She'd already made a mental note to look it up later.) The whole thing was just getting more and more bizarre. Regardless of what the quote itself meant, she worried over where it had come from. The fog world that she kept slipping into… Was it really some message from her subconscious, as she'd hoped? Or something more sinister?

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Perhaps it's because the chapter I just finished writing felt shorter than I was expecting, but this one felt particularly long… I now have less than a full month before the new semester starts. I'm hoping to keep the updates to at least once a month, but… I guess we'll see. That'll be the upside to having a few chapters written out ahead of time, if I do have a really busy month. Of course… that means I can only slip up once or twice before that's not the case anymore. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	6. Breakthrough

**A week from today I will be a full-time student again. The updates have been coming on a pretty regular basis up until now. Let's hope I can keep that up to at least once a month… That's the goal anyway. But just in case… Kindly accept this especially long chapter as gift. Also, there's a flashback in this chapter. Read carefully, so you don't get lost.**

 **As a little side note, I found myself spending a lot of time on real-world research for this chapter. I'm not terribly familiar with Japan and its geography, so you'll have to excuse any mistakes there, but here's what I found: We all remember the battle in Odaiba when the kids return to fight Myotismon in the original series. (Digimon fans have even put together an 'Odaiba Day' in celebration of that anniversary, in case you were unaware of that.) But Highton View Terrace is Nerima, which I don't think is ever explicitly mentioned… Hopefully that saves you from any confusion.**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter five:** Guest, Angelfish369, ToastyToaster22, **and** Sweet Cari **! I love reading all of your predictions, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story!**

 **Chapter Six: Breakthrough**

This was not part of their summer plans. Kari tried to tell herself that Yolei was so disorganized anyway, maybe the sudden change wouldn't bother her too much. They were supposed to be headed to the ocean today. The first beach trip since school let out for the summer break. But, upon waking that morning, Kari had been struck by a certain resolve. Her parents already expected her to be gone for the day. She wasn't sure when another opportunity would arise.

She wasn't looking forward to convincing Yolei—or breaking the news, if the other girl didn't want to join her—but Kari was going back to Highton View Terrace. The scene of the crime, she could imagine Cody calling it. She hadn't been back since her family had moved away, but now she needed to see it. She hadn't had another… episode since her journey to the nurse's office right before school let out, and her dreams had returned to normal too. This probably should have been something of a relief—an indication that she wasn't going crazy after all—but instead she just felt even more lost. Had the answers been within reach only to evade her yet again?

She had to find out. And if seeing the place where it all went down didn't jog her memory, Kari wasn't sure what would.

"Good morning, Mrs. Inoue," she greeted. Kari didn't have much experience with lying, but she figured the key was to appear as normal as possible. Luckily, Yolei's parents didn't really have the time to be suspicious. In fact, her mother was already on her way out the door.

"Oh! Hello, Kari. It's good to see you again." And then, to the rest of the house, "I'm heading out!" And back to Kari, "You girls have fun."

"Thanks." Kari stepped into the house as the Inoue matriarch rushed out, closing the door behind her. She was a frequent visitor in Yolei's home. Her siblings seemed to take no notice of Kari as she moved through the house to Yolei's bedroom.

When she reached the room, the door was already cracked open. This may not have been unusual somewhere else, but Yolei did whatever she could to give herself privacy in this crowded house. Her door was always closed. Kari peeked around the doorframe and saw that her day was about to get a little more complicated.

Yolei was hunched over a laptop on her desk, some incomprehensible code played out over the screen. It was Cody, sitting on the bed, who noticed her. Kari entered the room then, and Yolei looked up too.

"Oh, hey, Kari. Cody came over early and asked me to check out his laptop. It's a little trickier than I anticipated, but I shouldn't be too much longer. And then we can go."

Cody bowed his head to them. "I'm sorry to be a bother. I didn't realize you had other plans."

"It's okay, Cody. Um, actually, I wanted to talk to you about our trip today…"

Yolei's hands stilled. She looked horrified, as if there was more at stake here than just a day at the beach. "Don't tell me you're cancelling! You've already come all the way here!"

Kari didn't have a chance to answer before there was a loud pounding on the doorframe, despite her having left the door wide open. One of Yolei's sisters stood in the doorway, a bored expression on her face. "Hey, there's some boy here to see you."

"What? Who?"

Yolei's sister just shrugged.

"Well, did you let him in?"

"Left him in the kitchen."

Yolei huffed impatiently as her sister drifted off down the hall, mind already on something else. Yolei stomped past them out of the room and returned a moment later with Davis in tow. His presence in her room did not seem to improve Yolei's mood any. Davis himself looked a little confused.

"Oh, did you all have plans?" Someone else might have sounded jealous or left out. Cody's tone was one of simple, polite interest.

"No," Yolei said shortly. "Davis, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Well, I have a week left before soccer camp starts, so I was going to see if Kari wanted to hang out. But when I got to her apartment, her mom said she was here so…"

"So you came here," Yolei concluded.

Kari sighed. "It's fine. Maybe this is for the best. I get the feeling, somehow, that we're all tangled up in this."

"Tangled up in what?" Cody asked curiously.

Kari took a deep breath. "I'm going back to Highton View Terrace."

She watched as this sank in for Yolei and Cody. The look on Davis's face was utterly blank. It reminded her that they'd never actually discussed the incident with Davis. So he was the one she turned her focus on.

"Four years ago, my brother and six other kids disappeared after our neighborhood in Highton View Terrace was destroyed in what was blamed on a terrorist attack. The three of us have been brainstorming about the mystery. About some things that don't add up. And I've been… remembering things. Things that don't make sense either." She glanced at the two who were supposedly already up to speed and decided they didn't need the whole story—hallucinations and all—just yet. "So I'm going back to see if any of the old sights help me remember anything else."

"Oh… Yeah, I remember that. Kinda. I mean, we never lived in the area so…"

Yolei's sigh cut off Davis's stumbled response. "Are you—I don't even have to ask, do I? Of course you're sure. Okay, when do we leave?"

Kari swallowed. "Are you sure? I know this is kind of a weird trip. There doesn't have to be a 'we'."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kari," Yolei answered immediately. "I'm not about to let you go alone. We're in this together."

She looked to Cody and even Davis who nodded. Though Davis still looked a bit bewildered. Kari felt a surge of affection for her friends.

"All right then," said Yolei, standing up as if she was in charge of this operation. "When do we leave?"

Kari smiled. "As soon as everyone's ready."

Everyone was suddenly in motion, mobilizing for their adventure. Only Cody stopped to wonder, "Should we invite TK?"

"No," Davis answered immediately and was pleasantly surprised when Kari thoughtfully replied, "Not yet."

The other two seemed surprised as well, so she elaborated, "Don't get me wrong, I like TK. And if there's anyone who should be as invested in finding answers as me, it's TK. But… I don't want to involve him just yet. There's something he's not telling us. I know you've all noticed it too." She paused. "I want to trust TK. I think… he just needs some more time to get to trust _us_."

Her little speech was met with silence but approval. They were all on board. Once again, Kari was struck by a feeling of comradery—the way she'd felt at the lunch table that day. Now they'd inducted another member and moved past the brainstorming stage. Kari was trying to keep her expectations low. The day trip to Highton View Terrace was only the first step, after all. Even so, she couldn't help feeling like they were on the edge of something momentous.

 **…**

As was to be expected, the route to Nerima was crowded with other students taking advantage of the extended summer break. But their destination was not chosen for amusement, fun, or relaxation. The four didn't quite know what to expect, but the journey there was a quiet one. Tense for some, contemplative for others.

For Kari, the time was spent reflecting on the quote she'd found in the unfinished castle—the foggy world of her possible hallucination. She had located the rest of it that very afternoon, but this accomplishment had not brought with it any startling clarity. The full line, attributed to Desmond Tutu, read, "Hope is being able to see that there is light, despite all the darkness."

Personally, Kari felt that this last bit was implied, though she did note that the extra capitalization had not been a work of the original author's doing. So did it perhaps mean something special to her situation? If so, shouldn't she know? She wished she could have Cody's weigh in on the seemingly simple line. But then, that would require sharing where she had come across it in the first place so… It could wait.

There was a loud ding as the train reached their stop. The four kids rose as one but didn't speak until they'd moved off the platform, out of earshot of most of the potential listeners. It really was starting to feel like some sort of undercover mission.

Once again, Yolei appeared to take charge but turned to Kari for direction. "Where do you want to start? Your old apartment building?"

Kari shook her head. "No. They probably built the new building to look exactly like the old one, but I'm not sure how familiar it would be. I mean, even if it looks the same, my mind knows those apartments were never _home_. I want to see if the shelter is still standing."

"Wasn't the 'shelter' just an old abandoned warehouse across the river?" queried Cody. "What are the chances that it's been renovated too? Or just torn down completely?"

"Don't be such a downer, Cody! We won't know until we look!" Davis jumped in. Kari was grateful, though she knew there was a good chance Cody was right.

"Then I guess that's that," said Yolei. She pointed to a grassy embankment just a few yards from where they stood. "If we just follow the river, we'll run into it eventually."

As the group began their trek, Cody engaged Yolei in the logistics of some of the other, less popular conspiracy theories that had arisen around that night. But Kari wasn't in the mood for technical problems and true craziness. Her thoughts were filled with the 'human problems' they had barely discussed. With Joe and Mimi. Matt and Izzy. Names she could only put faces to with the aid of the old childhood photos that had been distributed when they went missing. Sora, of whom her memories were starting to fade. And, of course, with Tai.

Had they raced along this very path in the chaos of that night, the way they raced through her mind now? And, of course, where exactly had they been lost to whatever fate had befallen them? She longed for a concrete way to retrace the steps of even one of the seven. TK's amnesia was once again her own personal plague. Far more painful to her than it seemed to be to him. Secrets or not, if he had regain even just the barest, disjointed scraps of memory of that night, she would have had him along in a heartbeat. As it was, it seemed she would have to rely on her own memories of the experience. Incomplete as they may be.

She hardly noticed Davis hanging back to walk alongside her. He didn't seem to mind being ignored, for which she was grateful. He annoyed Yolei to no end, but he really didn't bother her as much as her friend thought he should. Of course, just as she was feeling generous he went and opened his mouth.

"So, uh, Kari… I was thinking… Maybe you and I could hang out some other day too? You know, just the two of us?"

She sighed and slowed her steps, distancing them even more from the other two. Davis remained hopefully at her side, but Kari was about to put this to rest once and for all. "Davis, your interest is really… flattering, but it's not going to work. I'll just never be able to think of you that way."

He hung his head. "Never?"

Her smile was a little sad. She kept her voice soft as she explained. "It's a compliment, really. You see, Davis… you remind me of Tai."

His eyes widened as that sank in. Kari wasn't sure she could articulate it exactly. It wasn't his looks or his love of soccer. It wasn't even his stubborn streak or hotheadedness, which they also shared, to an extent. No, what reminded Kari most of Tai was the magnetic quality Davis had. He was loud and not always all that bright, but it was hard to stay mad at him. People were drawn to Davis. He made friends easily and, once made, there was nothing he would not do for those friends.

"I hope you can understand," she said at last.

Davis still looked a little dejected, but he was resilient too. "Yeah, I get it…"

"Hey, look!" Yolei's shout brought the two pairs back together. "That's it, right?"

Kari looked up and felt her breathing stutter, for just a second. That was, indeed, it. The old warehouse remained standing, just across the river from where they stood.

Davis ran down the embankment with renewed energy. He waved to them from the water's edge. "Guys, look at this!"

The other three followed a little more hesitantly. Davis stood beside a large, beached wooden board. He crowed again, "Look at this! We could use it like a raft." He rooted around in the grass a bit more and came up with a large stick.

"I feel like we've stepped into some sort of storybook," Yolei muttered, but no one jumped to turn Davis down.

Cody had already slipped the board out onto the water and seemed to be testing its weight. It remained afloat, so that was one less worry. Even so, he glanced thoughtfully at his friends. "I wouldn't risk more than two of us on the raft at a time. We'll have to make three trips."

"Great!" Davis cheerfully held up the big stick acting as their oar, but Yolei wasted no time in cutting him off.

"I don't think so! If anyone's going to be the designated rower, it should be Cody."

"Me?" Cody exclaimed, audible even over Davis's protests. But Yolei wasn't budging.

"Cody's the smallest. Any other combination and we risk being too heavy to get across."

Cody was quiet for a moment, possibly looking for some way out of the job, but in the end he bent to Yolei's logic. He ferried first Davis then Yolei across the river, depositing them on the other shore. Kari was last, and Cody's knuckles were white on the oar, his jaw clenched shut. He made for a very different picture than Tai had that night. Her brother had seemed heroic—a figure straight out of some mythological legend. With Cody, there was no such façade. She saw no brave confidence on Cody's face. Perhaps he was still a hero… But he was a hero who was well aware of the dangers the world held.

In any case, a silence fell over them all as they drew closer to the warehouse. The door creaked open easily and the four crept in. There was no one around and no one likely to come by and catch them, but the feeling of trespassing remained. Even so, Yolei left the door ajar. The only other sources of light were the places the ceiling had fallen in. It was dim, but big and empty too. There wasn't much of anything _to_ see.

"Well…" Yolei said, taking a few steps deeper in. "This place sure is… big."

As if to emphasize her point, every word had its own echo. But Cody turned to Kari. "So? Is being here bringing back any memories?"

She looked around for a moment before shaking her head. "Not really… More like making all the old ones even clearer."

"So you just sat in here all night?" Davis asked.

"Yeah… None of my memories from this part of the night are going to do us much good. It's the journey here that I can barely remember. Except…"

"Except what?" Yolei had returned to the little huddle the group was making in the middle of the big empty room.

"I remembered the raft ride over here. I think that must have been the way Tai got us all to the shelter that night."

"But why would he do that?" They all turned to look at Davis. He hurried to explain, "I mean, there's a bridge just a little farther down. We would've seen it soon if we kept walking."

"There was a bridge this whole time?!" Cody exclaimed, looking a little betrayed.

"Yeah. At least, I remember crossing a bridge. We had a match against the Nerima soccer team not that long ago. I just thought the raft would get us here faster."

"They must have rebuilt the bridge too then," Kari said without thinking. And then she blinked. Where had that come from?

"Huh? Did the bridge get destroyed too?" said Yolei. "All of the newspaper articles I saw only mentioned the apartment buildings that were hit."

"I… don't remember," said Kari at last. "I'm not sure where that came from."

"Hmm…" Yolei had crossed her arms and was eying her friend thoughtfully. "Well, let's take the bridge back and see if you remember anything else."

Their footsteps echoed as they made their way back to the door. Kari stopped once and turned to stare, briefly, at a nondescript spot on the left side of the room. Davis stopped beside her, looking around for whatever she was staring at. "Kari? What's wrong?"

She tried to keep her expression neutral as she pointed, her voice soft. "That's where I sat for most of the night. The parents and rescue workers started arriving around sunrise. I kept waiting and waiting for the next face to be Tai's… But he never came back…"

"Uh…" Davis didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Kari just shook her head. It was a little late to spend time wallowing in the past. She turned to go, Davis close on her heels.

 **…**

Kari was starting to worry she'd dragged her friends all over the city on a pointless adventure. What had been gained from their trip to the warehouse? She hadn't learned anything she didn't already know, and she expected the walk across the bridge to be the same. But she was to be surprised, if maybe not so pleasantly.

They were about halfway across the foot path when her breath caught in her throat. She had never experienced a true flashback before, but suddenly, the sun disappeared overhead, and she was on the ground, the bridge still ahead in the distance. She was running straight for it… when something big fell like a rock from above, crushing the bridge underneath its weight.

Kari felt a scream pass her lips. She instinctively turned away as the wall of dust and debris from the destruction swept her way. A pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling Kari close and shielding her from the worst of it. Tai, some part of her realized. And he didn't let go until the wind and screams around them had died down.

Tai's hands tightened on her shoulders ever so slightly. Kari dared to look up at the ruined bridge. There were other crashes in the distance, and Kari could just spot two enormous, shadowy figures that she couldn't quite make out… But their shapes were the things of nightmares. She saw what looked like horns and wings, blasts of fire or pure energy shooting through the air, briefly lighting up the night sky.

"Those two again," Tai murmured above her, his voice startlingly clear. He pulled her upright. "Come on, we'll have to find another way across."

They ran toward the river… And suddenly she was back. Kari found she had fallen to her knees on the bridge, the sun shining above. Her friends were all standing protectively around her, reminiscent of the way Tai had held her that night. Luckily, traffic on the bridge was light, and there were only a few other people, staring at her in concern.

As soon as she saw Kari had come back to them, Yolei hurried to shoo them away. "She's fine; there's nothing to see here; it's just the heat; it gets to her sometimes."

Slowly, the bystanders dispersed as Cody and Davis helped her to her feet. Yolei was back at her side in an instant, smoothly nudging Davis out of the way.

"Give me a heart attack, why don't you!" Yolei exclaimed in a low voice, throwing an arm across her shoulders. "I don't know what just happened, but it looks like you had a breakthrough. Let's get off this bridge, and then you can tell us all about it!"

Kari nodded and let herself be led forward. She was ready to tell her friends everything. Now if only she had any idea where to start.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon!**

 **There has not been a single chapter yet where the title hasn't changed before I've finished writing the chapter.**


	7. Monsters

**Sitting down to write the next chapter for this story was probably the most relaxing thing I've done all week. I just finished writing one of those essays where you're so unenthusiastic about the assigned topic that every sentence sucks out another piece of your soul and by the time you've reached the minimum page requirement, you're so ready for it to be over that you've stopped caring about the quality. All I can say is… I'm so glad it looks like the worst essay of the semester is already out of the way.**

 **Anyway… Thank you so much for reviewing chapter six:** ReaperOfShadow125, Sweet Cari, **and** Berry Doyle! **I know things have been kind of slow, but I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! And things are about to get interesting…**

 **Chapter Seven: Monsters**

She waited until they were seated on a café terrace, cold drinks set out before them, before she tried to explain what had happened on the bridge. Her friends waited with quiet curiosity while Kari took a deep breath.

"Guys… I think we may be going about this the wrong way."

Cody leaned forward intently. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… I don't think this is a mystery we'll be able to puzzle out with logic. I've been… seeing things."

If she had any idea where the beginning was anymore, she would start there. But she didn't, so Kari let it all come pouring out in no particular order. The hazy, senseless dreams, her potential hallucinations in the equally hazy fog world, and finally the flashback on the bridge. She was grateful the terrace was empty. It made it easier to tell this story without restraint. And once the story was told, there was absolute silence.

She could see the conflict plainly written on Yolei's face. Clearly, her friend wanted to support her but couldn't quite bring herself to believe something so crazy. Cody's brows had furrowed, his lips pressed together in a tight line, as he absorbed this. Davis's expression was slightly more reassuring. His blank confusion was not that different from, say, when someone tried to explain a difficult math problem to him. There was no reason to suspect, from _his_ expression, that he'd just been told giant monsters were real and capable of destroying their city on a whim.

It was on this familiar look that Kari chose to focus. But it was Cody who ultimately broke the silence with the expression of someone dreading having to give bad news to someone. "Kari, that's… That's not possible."

"Don't be so quick to—" Davis began.

But Cody cut him off almost immediately. "Oh, come on, Davis! I want to help Kari as much as anyone but _this_ … Now we're talking about monsters and magic and… This sort of thing just doesn't happen in real life!"

This was the reaction Kari had been both dreading and expecting. But perhaps it was not solely logic-driven. Cody looked almost panicked to be sitting at this table with people who were honestly considering the impossible.

"Look, Kari… I know anniversaries are hard. Grief and trauma can manifest in weird ways—"

"Hold on, Cody," Yolei interrupted now. "There's no reason to go there…"

"Well, what else can it be?" He turned on her. "She said it herself—she's been seeing things. Being in school one second and… and somewhere else the next. All of this is just too…"

"Too what?" Davis challenged.

"Crazy!" he exclaimed, looking from one determined face to another. "It just… This can't happen."

"I don't totally get it," Yolei admitted slowly. "But… I want to believe that crazy, impossible things _can_ happen. Even the bad things, if it's all or nothing. And I believe in Kari."

"Yeah, so do I!" Davis chimed in, right on cue. "I may not understand it all, but I don't think anything is really impossible. So what do you say, Cody? Are you in or out?"

Davis placed his hand palm-down on the table, like they were in an old-fashioned, feel-good adventure cartoon. Yolei appeared almost frightened, but she placed her hand over his. And then there was only Cody.

Finally, Kari felt the need to intervene. "I didn't mean for this to become a conflict. You don't have to choose sides."

But he sighed, the decision already made. "I think in this case, not choosing _is_ a choice." And he placed his hand atop the other two.

 **…**

TK's sigh was abnormally loud here in the in-between world of the Dark Ocean. He wasn't sure what it echoed off of, because the only wall in sight was right in front of him. But then, TK had stopped worrying a while ago about there being holes in the logic of these worlds.

"What's wrong, TK?" Patamon fluttered down to rest atop his head. "It looks like the bridge is almost complete."

He hummed in response, absentmindedly bringing a hand up to Patamon's side. It was a habit he'd fallen into since their reunion—as if he needed the reassurance that his friend was still there, still with him, still _alive_. They stood below a holographic looking bridge. In some places it appeared solid and very real. In others it flickered and disappeared completely, occasionally blinking back into existence. TK had begun to think of it like a bad Wi-Fi signal.

"And you said Kari's been trying to get her memory back. She's made it this far a few times already. It shouldn't be long before she's able to make the entire journey herself," Patamon pressed.

"Yeah…" TK replied. "But we may be getting more than we bargained for. The crests are starting to show signs of life again, but the others aren't getting better. Honestly, I'm not sure what we're up against anymore."

"Do we ever?"

The two looked at each other and smiled, laughing a little. "I guess we'll just figure it out as we go along."

"Now that's the TK I know." Patamon's smile faltered, his wings drooping. "The Digital World is in such bad shape, though. The other crests…"

TK's smile did not falter but grew melancholy. "Hope is what remains when all else is lost. That's us. And we've got a job to do."

Patamon nodded, and they continued their journey back to the other side.

 **…**

The four friends left when the café started to fill up. It was time for the dinner rush already. Hard to believe this little adventure had taken up their entire day, but it hadn't been for nothing after all. Kari wasn't totally sure what the next step was, and Davis was about to depart for a week-long soccer camp, but she had no doubt they would all come back together in time. Their pact had been made official today. Whatever came next, they were a team.

They were all quietly contemplative on their walk back to the station. Cody appeared to be puzzling through this latest development with renewed effort. ("So, if there _is_ such a thing as magic, where does it come from? Where have the monsters been since that night where they could go unnoticed? Were they possibly deposited here from another world entirely, via a black hole or some such? If so, how many other worlds are out there? I wish we had more to go on…") Kari couldn't tell if Yolei was listening politely or lost in her own thoughts. Davis just seemed happy to be amongst friends, no matter what they were up to. And Kari herself was pondering the newest mystery: In all this newfound camaraderie, where did TK fit in?

It hadn't been her intention to exclude him from anything momentous. Whatever his secrets were, she couldn't help feeling that he should be a part of this. Perhaps it had been wrong of her to retaliate by keeping secrets of her own.

They were all broken out of their thoughts by a newscast in a nearby store window. The salesperson smiled at them apologetically—it seemed he'd shot the volume up by accident—but it had their attention now. Especially given the way Yolei perked up. "Hey, that's—!"

Onscreen a reporter stood beside a boy who couldn't have been any older than they were. Behind them, the room was set up for a competition of some sort. There were rows and rows of tables and official-looking people clearing away whatever they had been hosting.

"And here you have it, ladies and gentlemen!" the reporter announced enthusiastically. Her eyes sparkled as she gestured to the boy beside her. "The winner of this district's annual chess tournament—Ken Ichijouji! This win will allow him to compete in the national championships later this year, for the third year in a row, I might add! So Ken, what do you have to say about today's tournament?"

Ken smiled charmingly as he turned to address his invisible audience, not a hair out of place, clearly used to being in front of a camera. "I am honored to have played against so many worthy competitors. The national championships are sure to be quite the challenge."

"Oh, how modest!" the reporter gushed. She went on to praise him for some of his other many accomplishments. Ken accepted every compliment with humble deference to everyone else involved. After a while, Kari found her attention drifting away from the boy and instead focusing on the reporter who was practically flirting with him. It was a little disturbing, really. Though if any of her friends felt the same way, they didn't comment on it. And Yolei seemed to be right there with the reporter, hands clasped to her chest, cheeks aglow.

Eventually, the salesman cleared his throat, their signal to move along if they didn't plan to make any purchases. Yolei sighed dreamily as they walked away. "He's so amazing. I suppose he probably has a girlfriend already, though…"

Cody laughed almost inaudibly, a smirk playing on his lips as he took in the change that had come over Yolei. But Davis just scoffed.

"That reporter was something else," he said loftily. "Talking about chess like it was something exciting. I bet he's not actually all that great."

"I don't know," Kari commented. "I heard he brought his team to the national soccer championships this year, too."

"Yeah!" Yolei jumped in. "Remind me how far _your_ team got, Davis?"

He just 'humped' in response, bringing his arms up to rest behind his head and turning up his nose. Kari smiled at their now-familiar antics but, now that the interview wasn't staring them in the face, she found her thoughts finding their way back to Ken Ichijouji. This certainly wasn't the first time she'd heard the boy genius's name. He was something of a minor celebrity around these parts. He always seemed to be in the news for winning or inventing _something_. She'd seen his parents go on air a couple of times, too, so they could answer the usual questions about how proud they were… It was always strange to see; her mind couldn't seem to help but juxtapose these interviews with the ones her own parents had done, begging for any information regarding Tai's disappearance.

She couldn't even begin to imagine being on the other side of _that_ coin. She stifled a sigh. Some people had it all…

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **This chapter was a little shorter but a lot of fun to write. We've reached that point where the mysteries feel like they're reaching their peak… yet the characters haven't managed to stumble onto any explanations yet. I'm just getting to that part in the written chapters. And I'm starting to get really excited!**


	8. Investigation

**I feel like I've been writing for three days straight. Fair warning, chapter ten is a novel.**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter seven:** ToastyToaster22, Berry Doyle, ReaperOfShadows125, Sweet Cari, **and** Sanzoline! **And thank you** dnofsunshine **for reviewing chapters four and seven! I got a ton of reviews this time, and some of you have amazing internal timing too! The first wave of reviews came in after the chapter had first been posted, as expected. But I got quite a few within the last few days too, coincidentally right about the time I'd started writing the next one. It's like you knew… Anyway!**

 **Chapter Eight: Investigation**

Their investigation, as they'd taken to calling it, was put on hold not long after this get-together. Davis went off to his soccer camp, as planned. And Yolei used his absence as an excuse to drag Kari all over town on little outings, much to Cody's chagrin. But, even in the midst of shopping trips and beach days and trying to get at least some of her summer work done, Kari felt adrift. Like she was waiting for something.

If only she knew what. She felt she had gleaned all she could from their trip to Highton View Terrace and felt no desire to return. But this left her unsure of the next step. Cody had regained his composure so completely, but she knew he was grasping at straws as well. No amount of problem-solving training had prepared her for magic and monsters and other worlds. It seemed like the task should be rather simple. After all, the magic seemed to be coming to her, without any well-thought-out provocation. It was starting to look like she would just stumble into whatever world they were looking for sooner or later.

Except… As the summer wore on, Kari didn't have a single new 'episode' as she'd taken to calling them. Her dreams returned to their usual state, when she dreamt at all. She didn't run across anything that triggered another flashback. And, even when she tried to summon it from the depths of her mind, the fog world remained frustratingly out of her reach.

She sighed loudly, flopping back on her bed and staring up at the underside of Tai's bed above her. It had been her room alone for four years now, but they had never switched out the bunk beds for something less restrictive, and it was still second nature for her to leave Tai's side of the room alone, for the most part. She wondered what that said about her… but only for a moment, before quickly brushing that question aside. She answered it firmly: It said she was a loving sister who had every faith her brother would return.

Kari sighed again and sat back up. The feeble breeze from the fan couldn't reach her from her previous position. She had managed to procure a day for herself, free from any of Yolei's impulsive adventures. Now she was thinking she would endure enough shopping trips to sate even Yolei, if only it meant she got to enjoy some air conditioning while they were at it. She was melting in the midday heat.

Kari remained utterly still for a moment. If not for the cicadas buzzing in the distance, she would be in total silence. Her mother had gone to the store, and she found herself with even more downtime than she'd anticipated. Well… She might as well have another go at crossing the world barriers.

Kari took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She did her best to clear her mind of all else… and envision herself back in that foggy corridor. She remembered the dimness, the way her very thoughts seemed to echo in that space, the splashes of water whenever she took a step forward. And then she opened her eyes and… no dice. As usual. She was still in her bedroom, in body _and_ spirit.

So what was left, she wondered? Where might she find the answers to her questions? She didn't think the library would be of much use. It may have been a wealth of information, but it was unlikely to be the information she needed. Her other sources of information (namely Cody) seemed to have run dry too.

But there was still whatever TK was hiding.

The thought came out of nowhere, but she found herself… unsurprised. She had always known TK was tied into this mess, and her newest revelations made her shudder. If they really were dealing with monsters, it was no wonder his mind had blocked it all out. Was she really contemplating dredging those memories back up?

Yes… Yes, she was.

It was for a greater good, she rushed to reassure herself. There were six other kids out there somewhere, still facing whatever TK had escaped. Including both of their brothers. Surely, TK would agree with her once he realized Matt's wellbeing was at stake… Right?

Well, first thing's first. She had no idea how to contact TK. It was as if he'd faded into oblivion at the start of the summer. As far as she knew, no one had heard from him. And her mother had fallen out of touch with the other families.

There was one place sure to have TK's address and other contact information… And good lord, was she _really_ thinking about breaking into the school's main office to sneak a peek at the student records? What was this investigation doing to her?

But, once planted, she couldn't seem to properly uproot this plan. The school would be near-deserted this late in the season… And, despite all her close calls with tardiness, she'd never really gotten into trouble before… Even if she was caught, she could talk her way out of it. Probably.

Kari was on her feet and out the door before she really had the time to think it over. She felt as if she and her friends had reached a crossroads of sorts. Maybe it was about time they started taking some risks.

The summer allowed her to stick to the shadows and remain inconspicuous at the same time. No one wanted to be caught out in this heat. And darting from one shady place to another helped to put Kari into the right mindset. Soon she was no longer an ordinary girl struggling to apply logic to a million impossibilities. She was a spy on a reconnaissance mission. And TK was her target.

As she'd expected, the school was nearly empty. She lingered outside the gates for a while and saw only janitors come and go. At last, she took a deep breath. Okay. She was ready. But then, just before she could dart inside, a voice rang out behind her.

"Kari?"

She whirled around and found Yolei standing a few steps behind her, out in full view of anyone passing by. In perfect unison they asked, "What are you doing here?"

Kari quickly waved her friend over, and they stood pressed up against the outer wall so that no one inside could see them. Yolei whispered again, "What are you doing?"

"I'm… sneaking into the school." It was just as she'd feared. Now that she'd been forced to stop and think about it—say the words aloud—she was starting to have some doubts.

Yolei's eyebrows shot up, but her surprise was quiet enough not to blow their cover, at least. "What?! _Why_? Even Cody's not that eager to go back. We only have a few more weeks!"

"I know. This is something I have to do before we go back. I'm… looking for a way to contact TK."

"TK?" Yolei was quiet for a moment, more serious and contemplative than usual. "You know, I'd usually have some joke prepared for this… but you're looking for him because you think it will help with the investigation, aren't you?"

"Yes." There was something off about her friend's tone. Kari relaxed against the wall, putting her 'mission' aside for the moment. She scrutinized Yolei. "I thought we were all trying to work out the mystery."

"Of course. We are." Again, her voice didn't sound entirely genuine. And she wouldn't make eye contact.

"Yolei… Is everything okay?"

The other girl sighed. "I… I didn't want to say anything the other day. Especially with Cody barely on board with it either. I didn't want to see you shot down, because I'm sure you _are_ right, but…" Kari hadn't noticed before, but Yolei's hands were trembling. "We're up against something huge… And every time I think about it, I can't help feeling like we're in way over our heads. I'm afraid of what we might find next."

Kari was quiet for a moment. To be honest, there was a part of her that was relieved someone else had said it. "Yolei… None of you have to help with this if you don't want to. But… If you think I'm _not_ scared… Well, that's the craziest thing so far."

They smiled at each other and then giggled, in unison once more, the sound tinged ever so slightly with their panic. But, frightened or not, the sound seemed to reassure Yolei.

"Of course I'm still going to help you. I may be afraid… But we're in this together. So. Where do we start?"

Kari grinned. "Well, this should go a little more smoothly now that I have a lookout. I've only seen janitors on the grounds today, and they've been entering through the side door by the sports fields. We'll have to sneak in through there."

Yolei nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."

They peeked around the wall again and then took off across the yard, running on tiptoe. Kari realized immediately that her mission mindset would be impossible to reclaim. She and Yolei were still fighting giggles, doing something so crazy with a friend. But Kari had to admit, she was grateful for the company.

They were lucky. They took cover behind a tree for a few seconds and, seeing no one, darted across the last field and through the unlocked door. There was no one in the gym—and no place to hide even if there had been. Even so, they stuck close to the walls and kept their pace as quick as stealth allowed.

The hallways were dim and deserted. Kari was reminded of her last… episode. In this very main hallway. She shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell. Yolei gestured wildly to the next hallway, but Kari could hear the footsteps drawing nearer too. They ran for the main office, trying to muffle the sound of their own footsteps.

They made it inside and quickly hid behind the long counter where the secretaries worked. The entire front wall of the main office was made of glass, offering no cover whatsoever. The two remained crouched behind the counter for a second, catching their breath, but they stiffened up at the sound of the door to the office opening again. Come to think of it, they probably should have been suspicious that the door was unlocked in the first place. And, looking farther back into the office, all of the doors to the inner rooms stood open too.

Yolei was looking at her with wide eyes, but Kari held up a single finger, signaling for her friend to wait. The carpets smelled freshly vacuumed. She suspected they were about to get lucky once again.

Sure enough, they listened to the worker for a few minutes and then heard the sound of a spray bottle and could smell the faint odor of chemicals. He was washing the windows. Excellent. Kari gave Yolei a smirk and a thumbs up. She began crawling towards the principal's office down the hall behind them, keeping her pace slow and inconspicuous. Yolei followed her lead, and soon they had turned a corner and were hidden by an actual wall. Now came the hard part.

As could be expected, the cabinets containing the student files remained locked. The janitors had no reason to open them. Kari pulled a small, thin rod from her front pocket, perfect for picking locks. Yolei looked at her quizzically, and she just smiled. She and Tai had gotten up to all sorts of trouble when they were small. All harmless, of course, but trouble nonetheless. Kari had picked a few locks in her day.

Yolei seemed to be holding her breath, fingers visibly crossed. They both froze for a second when they heard the lock click into place… But it wasn't loud enough to bring anyone running. Nor was the sound of the drawer sliding open. After all that suspense, Kari was able to flip through the files, locate TK's, and copy down his address in record timing. She slipped his file back into the drawer, and the girls prepared to make their escape.

Yolei opened the window over the principal's desk wide enough for them to both crawl through, not wanting to risk going back the way they came. And so followed one last sprint across the open schoolyard, and then they were free! Free to fall into near-hysterics at what they had gotten away with.

"I can't believe we didn't get caught!" Yolei exclaimed. "That was like something right out of a spy movie!"

"I know!" They finally paused to catch their breath. The heat returned then, as if they themselves had summoned it back merely by remembering it was supposed to be hot. The girls ducked into the shade of a nearby tree, refocused.

"Okay, so what next?" Yolei asked.

"We go see TK, of course." Kari pulled the slip of paper where she'd written his address out from the pocket of her shorts. "Actually, I think this is just a few streets down from where you live."

They set off again, in contemplative silence. Kari wasn't sure where she wanted to start, or if TK would even answer her questions, but this confrontation felt like it was long overdue. And… there was a part of her that knew that this part of the journey belonged to her.

"Yolei—" she began.

"Oh, no," her friend interrupted. "How many times are we going to go through this? We're in this together."

Kari smiled, giving in easily. They had reached his apartment building. The door to his apartment was in sight. "Okay. Just… let me go first, all right? I think he'll be more open to talk to just me. I'll get him out of the apartment and we can all go for a walk."

Yolei nodded and ran back to take cover around the corner. Kari felt a little bad about the ambush, but… No. She had to remember. She was on a mission. So Kari squared her shoulders and walked up to confidently knock on the door… Only to immediately be caught a little off-guard when TK's mother was the one to open the door.

Nancy Takaishi looked very much as Kari remembered her. Too much so, in fact. It took Kari a second to understand why this was unsettling. Then she realized. Her eyes had the same look to them that they'd had in the early days of her sons' disappearance. Her own parents had slowly lost that look as they'd learned to cope with the pain. Had Nancy never learned to deal with it? How could she live like that? With TK back, at least, why did she have to?

"Um, hi," she said after a moment of awkward silence. "I'm sorry to bother you. You may not remember me—"

But Nancy smiled, if a little glumly. "Kari Kamiya. Of course I remember you. How are your parents doing?"

"They're fine… How are _you_ doing?" she asked hesitantly.

TK's mother smiled politely but didn't answer, indicating, it would seem, that she knew exactly what Kari was referring to. Instead, she opened the door a little wider. "Why don't you come in?"

Kari sent a silent mental apology to Yolei as she accepted the invitation… and then an extra one when she let Nancy take the time to set them both up with tea.

It was only once they were both seated that his mother said, "I suppose you're trying to find TK?"

"Um… yes," she answered. She couldn't help but think her phrasing was a little odd.

"So am I," Nancy said, nearly inaudibly.

Her words made Kari's skin prickle. "What do you mean?"

Nancy smiled at her again. "You're TK's friend, right? He's always been so friendly… Yet he's never made any close friends. I could never understand why, but I thought moving to a new place might help him to open up a little more."

This wasn't helping to clear things up. Kari decided it was best to ask directly, "Where _is_ TK?"

Nancy smiled again. A sad, hopeless sort of smile, suggesting she was at the end of her rope. "I'm supposed to say he's visiting his father. We split up, you know."

"I did hear that… But what do you mean 'supposed to'?"

"I've never told anyone this before…" said Nancy quietly, clasping her hands anxiously around the cup of tea cooling before her. "But I think you might understand."

Just as Kari had suspected, Nancy could feel the connection between them. The tragedy had brought them together in a way an outsider could never truly understand. This was why she'd wanted Yolei to hang back. She doubted Nancy would have been willing to divulge her secrets to the both of them.

"TK was never the same after he got back. I expected that much, of course. But it was strange. Not like he couldn't remember, but like he just didn't want to talk to us. We didn't know what to do… And then he disappeared for the second time."

"Wait!" Kari gasped. "He went missing a _second_ time? I never heard about that!"

Nancy nodded. "His father and I had already separated by then. Things had been bad between us for a long time. When I called, panicked, to tell him TK had vanished, again, he told me TK was there with him. And when I asked TK about it later, he said he just wanted more time with his dad. I'd gotten full custody, you see. Hiroaki worked long, strange hours. The courts ruled his lifestyle wasn't suitable to child-rearing. Hiroaki wasn't too torn up by this. I think he'd expected as much. But TK still saw him on visiting days. …Anyway, I promised him more time with his father, but it kept happening. I would wake up in the morning or come home from work in the afternoon, and TK would just be gone."

"And you don't think he was actually going to visit his dad?"

Nancy was quiet for a moment. "I called him one morning… to ask if TK had run off to see him again, and Hiroaki told me yes, TK was there with him. But TK was asleep in the other room, you see. That's when I knew Hiroaki was covering for him."

"So where was he actually going?" Kari asked, just now realizing how far she'd leaned forward in anticipation.

Nancy's hands, still locked around her cup, had started to tremble. "I don't know. I don't know if I want to know. What if his silence was meant to protect us from something? At least the way things are now, he's always come back to me. What if I press him for answers and lose him for good?"

Kari left the Takaishi apartment weighed down with more than a few new questions. Yolei was waiting curiously, as expected. But the only answer Kari had to give was, "I think things just got even more complicated."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **I guess this chapter ended up being on the longer side too… Well, we're closing in on the plot reveal. Thank you for joining me!**


	9. Stalker

**I feel like I've been saying this for a while, but things are finally starting to get interesting… and by interesting, I mean chaotic. Following this chapter, you'll be seeing a lot of narrative skips, as all the kids are going to be in different places or in different pairs, following the mystery at their own pace. Which I find to be both very fun and a little stressful to write. And I hope you enjoy reading it!**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter eight:** ToastyToaster22, dnofsunshine, Berry Doyle, **and** Nightwing2013 **! I really liked reading all your input!**

 **Chapter Nine: Stalker**

"Wow," Yolei said at last. The two girls had set their course back in the direction of Yolei's family store, but their pace was slow, allowing Kari to give a detailed retelling of her conversation with TK's mother. Yolei had absorbed it all but didn't seem to know quite what to say. She murmured, almost to herself, " _What_ is going on here?"

Kari nodded contemplatively. It was hard to feel like they were making much progress. Every answer came with about a dozen more questions attached. She still believed that whatever was going on with TK was connected to her brother's disappearance—after all, hadn't it always been? But how this could possibly tie in to the magic and monsters she'd also recently decided were part of the equation, she couldn't say. For one startlingly clear moment, she understood exactly why Cody was so reluctant to buy into any of this. If this was still a case that could be solved by logic and some good old-fashioned detective work, they might have a hope of solving this. But as soon as you accepted all these crazy, otherworldly components into the mix… Kari felt like she was adrift in the sea of possibilities.

"So what now?" Yolei's question seemed to anchor her. Just focus on one step at a time. She could do that. And what was the next step?

"I'm going to go see TK's father," she answered, making the decision on the spot. "If he's been covering for TK, he has to know something, right?"

Yolei nodded. "That's a good idea. I mean, even if he doesn't know much, it's got to be more than what we have now."

They stopped in the Inoue convenience store to stock up on supplies—and to get out of the heat for a moment—before starting out on the next leg of their journey, but it wasn't to be. Yolei's mother, poised behind the counter and looking more than a little stressed, perked up immediately upon seeing her youngest daughter walk through the door.

"Oh, Yolei! Perfect timing! I need you to mind the store for a bit."

"What?!" Yolei exclaimed. "But it's Momoe's day!"

"I know, but she had a big paper due for that summer class she's taking."

"Sure she did," Yolei muttered just loud enough for Kari to hear.

"And I want her to stay on top of that," her mother continued, not seeming to notice the interruption. "You know she just barely got through her exams this last year, and she's going to have to start thinking about college soon. Your father is meeting with the delivery team to discuss the schedule. There was some sort of miscommunication this last week and they missed two drops. There's a prescription I've got to pick up, and you know the pharmacy closes early today."

"Well…" Yolei floundered, searching desperately for a way out of it. "What about Mantarou and Chizuru?"

"I couldn't get ahold of Chizuru, and Mantarou is out with friends."

" _I'm_ out with a friend!" Yolei protested, pulling Kari back to the center of the aisle to wave sheepishly at Yolei's mother. The other girl had been trying to make herself scarce, perusing the merchandise, as she always did when it came to Inoue family politics. "Can't you just get it tomorrow?"

But Yolei's mother was already stepping out from behind the counter and untying her apron. "I'm sure Kari understands. It's just while I run this one errand, honey. You'll be free again the second I get back. See you soon. Love you!"

"Yeah, sure," Yolei grumbled, but Mrs. Inoue was already out the door. " _Soon_. She'll get stuck in rush hour traffic for sure." But she was already tying the store apron around her own waist, resigned to her fate.

Kari remained uncertainly by her side. Luckily, with a sigh, Yolei released her before she was forced to make the decision herself. "It's okay. You can go."

"Are you sure?" Kari asked with a twinge of guilt. She _had_ agreed to stop shutting her friends out of the investigation.

Yolei nodded. "Yeah. TK's dad works over in Odaiba, right? If you wait for me, it'll be dark by the time we get there and he might have already gone home." A grin quirked at her lips. "I mean, unless you want to break _back_ into the school to see if they have his home address too?"

Kari smiled back. Had that little adventure really only been a few hours ago? "I'll report back to you as soon as I learn anything new."

"You'd better!" Yolei called as her friend also rushed out, back into the clutches of the mystery.

 **…**

Kari was soon grateful Yolei had pushed her out the door. Had she been a second later, she would have missed him.

She had slipped onto the train at the last minute. Just as Yolei had predicted, she'd run right into the thick of the rush-hour traffic, and the nearest passengers seemed a little annoyed that she hadn't waited for the next train. She had just smiled apologetically at a few of them before deciding to keep her head down until her stop… but then she spotted him. Something about the white hat she saw through the crowd of other passengers made her take a second look. And when she did, she found… TK.

For a second, Kari was frozen, but then one of the passengers between them leaned back ever so slightly, and she had to shift in turn to keep the boy in her line of sight. TK was near the back of the train, gazing out the window, his face reflected back in the afternoon light. She supposed his expression was always a little hard to read, but today he looked especially distant, staring off into space, not moving a muscle. It was the absence of the smile that really made a difference, though. If he'd been acting like himself, taking everything in, perhaps chatting up the teens playing some handheld game beside him, maybe Kari would have called out to him. Confronted him directly about the way he'd just disappeared this summer. Again.

But something about his faraway look made her keep her distance. She suspected he was not on some innocent trip to visit his father. No more innocent a trip than her own, at least. In the space of a second, Kari's mission changed.

When the train came to its first stop, Kari tried to shift out of the way, moving deeper into the train car, as subtly as possible. It was the only logical option, right? She was blocking the exit otherwise. But she got a few more dirty looks as she squeezed into the smallest spaces, making sure to keep out of TK's line of sight should he turn around.

She got lucky. The train remained relatively full for the duration of their journey, filling back up at nearly the same rate the previous passengers got off. When TK started moving up to a spot closer to the doors, Kari took a spot on the edge of a cluster of girls her age. She made sure to keep her back to him, checking on him out of her peripheral vision each time she felt the train slow.

When at last he moved to get off—at a stop near the end of the line in a town she was unfamiliar with—Kari got off too, making sure to keep a good number of the other disembarking passengers between them.

The town was a quaint little place, based on what she could see from the station. The group of girls she'd been pretending to be a part of started to make their way down a worn dirt road. Kari could see a row of homey little cottages off in that direction. Perhaps those girls were visiting their grandparents for the summer? In any case, they would offer her no more protection. TK set off in the other direction, away from civilization, it would seem. All Kari could see in that direction were a cluster of mountains rising up in the distance.

TK seemed to be the only one going that way, making her job a lot harder. Kari scanned the area and then crossed the street, climbed a little brick ledge and was able to hide herself in the sparse forest separating the town's cottages from the road and the isolated path TK was following. She was able to keep him in sight, but they were far enough apart that she didn't have to worry about being spotted immediately, even if he turned her way.

Kari lost track of how long they walked. She even tired of wondering where he was going. Her mind began to wander. What a day it had been. She'd gone from breaking into her school to flat-out stalking one of her classmates. She supposed she could no longer claim her sparkling reputation.

The sun was starting to set when she first considered turning back. Her current course of action was absolutely insane, wasn't it? The mountains were no longer looking all that distant. But then TK turned to cross the little stream separating his path from a massive stone staircase leading up one of those mountains, and her curiosity was piqued once again. Just who _was_ this boy? Why was his sneaking up a mountain for the night? What was up there?

Kari hesitated before stepping out from the cover the trees provided. TK hadn't turned back once, but she let him get even farther ahead. It wasn't like she was going to lose the only other person for miles around. Still, she didn't want to follow directly behind him. She darted across the road and started up the rougher path alongside the stairs. Thankfully, the setting sun bathed most of the hillside in shadow, and she was able to keep her footsteps quiet.

The only moment of unease came when TK crested the mountain and was suddenly out of sight. The thought of being up on a mountain alone at night was enough to hurry her pace, heedless of being caught. But TK had not stopped, and she found herself… in another little town? No… Not quite. The mountain plateaued and there were a series of little buildings, but they were too simple. Not full-fledged houses, but little cabins with two sets of bunk beds apiece. She climbed the steps of the biggest building and peered in at a deserted mess hall. TK had climbed the mountain to an old summer camp? It must have gone out of business or else there would be campers this time of year.

She realized she was standing out in the open at the same time she realized she'd lost TK again. All concern for stealth had left her at this point. It was getting darker by the minute, and she had seen enough to confront TK. She wasn't sure she could keep track of any more questions. So Kari rushed down the path, running through the camp, and came upon a breathtaking sight.

She turned the corner around the last cabin to find that the camp opened up to a small fenced-off cliff that broke through the surrounding peaks and gave them a full view of the sunset. TK stood facing the sun. She watched as he pulled some sort of device from his pocket. A tiny, portable radio, a pager? She couldn't tell from her current position. But she watched as he held it up to the sky. Were her eyes playing tricks, or was the light surrounding him getting brighter?

In another few seconds, the phenomenon was unmistakable. Kari was just raising a hand to shield her eyes when, in a sudden flash of light, TK was gone.

Unable to quite believe her eyes when the light died down, Kari ran into the now empty field, exactly where he had been standing just seconds earlier. He was nowhere to be seen, and the sun was setting rapidly. She was soon standing in the dim gray of twilight, even more lost than before. As she stared out at the darkening mountain, she was struck by what an odd time of day this was. This atmosphere was almost enough to make her believe TK really could have disappeared into thin right before her eyes.

But then, would that really be the strangest thing, considering all that had happened lately? Had she not been stepping in and out of reality herself? She'd come this far. Perhaps it was about time to get to the bottom of this. She'd never succeeded in purposely summoning the strange fog world before, but something about this time, this place just felt… right.

Kari felt herself gravitating towards that feeling of being adrift that she'd experienced earlier. Perhaps that was the key. Accepting that she could never hope to understand everything. That some things would always be out of her control, as scary and stressful as that might be.

Kari closed her eyes, took a deep breath and, like magic, found herself transported when she reopened her eyes. This time, the strange world spit her out on the banks of a lake. An ocean? It certainly looked big enough. She couldn't see the other side. The water lapped up at her shoes, and she shuffled back a few steps. She heard movement behind her too and whirled around.

Shadowy figures with bright eyes were crouching all up and down the beach, each and every one of them angled to face her. She had to resist the urge to retreat back to the water's edge. There was murmuring all around, but she couldn't quite make sense of the sounds. Slowly but surely, they began creeping closer.

"No," she said, her voice shaking nearly as much as her hands. "Stay back."

The creatures were totally unaffected, and her voice seemed to be swallowed up in the fog. "I said _stop_!"

This time her scream hit a pitch that could cut through anything. The sky itself opened up as a pillar of light shot down to engulf her. She gasped, frozen, as a literal angel dropped down, fending off the nearest creatures with his golden staff. The force of this blow was magnified in this dim world that seemed to suck light into a vacuum. But when Kari tilted her head back, the shaft of light the angel had come down through had not closed up. There was a shockingly blue sky above and, as she watched, a hand reached down for her, a voice she couldn't quite place with the distortion calling her name.

The angel grabbed her around the waist and up they flew through the shaft of light, just as the creatures overwhelmed them down below. They shot up, up… and then she was deposited on soft warm grass under that blue sky.

The first thing she noticed was TK on the ground beside her, looking worn and exasperated, but smiling that familiar smile. He met her eyes, shrugged, and said, "Well, welcome to the Digital World, I guess."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **We've made it! First big milestone achieved! And before hitting ten chapters, even!**


	10. Explanations

**As I'm sure you could conclude from the title alone, this chapter will be a big turning point for this story. I think we're making pretty good time, if I do say so myself.**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing chapter nine:** Sweet Cari, ToastyToaster22, Angelfish369, Guest, Berry Doyle, t4courtney, **and** dnofsunshine! **There were so many of you this time around! The reviews just kept coming, and I love them!**

 **Chapter Ten: Explanations**

She waited until the store closed. And that was Yolei's absolute last straw. When the front door to the Inoue home closed behind her mother, Yolei was immediately on her feet. She still hadn't heard a word from Kari, and the other girl certainly should have checked in by now. To make matters worse, Kari's mother had called an hour earlier—near-frantic for understandable reasons—wanting to know where her daughter was.

Yolei had played her part well, covered for her best friend. Yolei had told Mrs. Kamiya that of course Kari was still with her, in fact, she was probably going to stay the night, they'd just forgotten to call, apologies all.

But this had left Yolei in quite a pinch, and the second-guessing began immediately. Maybe her first instinct had been wrong. What if something had actually happened to Kari? In that case, wasn't the responsible course of action here to let someone know that she was actually missing? By the time night fell in earnest, her mind was filled with images of what Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya would do if they lost their daughter too. By the time her mother was walking through the door, she was on her way out.

"Bye, Mom! I'm going to go see Kari. I might stay the night."

"What? Aren't you even going to pack a bag?" she heard her mother call after her, but the door was already clicking shut behind her.

Yolei ran until she turned a corner and could be sure no one would see her from the windows of their apartment. Then she found the nearest pay phone. She was going to track down Kari herself, but she didn't want to do it alone. Unfortunately, Cody didn't pick up, so she steeled herself and went for plan B.

The phone rang so many times that Yolei almost gave up and hung up herself. But then, finally, a groggy voice picked up on the other end. "Hello?"

"Davis, it's Yolei. I need your help."

"What?" She heard him yawn and stretch on the other end. "Right now? I just got home. Spent the whole day on a bus…"

Yolei had almost forgotten that Davis had been away at soccer camp. But she didn't have the time to spare to catch up. "Yes, right now! Kari could be in trouble. I need you to meet me at the station."

"What?! Kari's in trouble?! I'll be right there!" And she was met with dead air on the other end.

 **…**

Kari didn't know what to ask first. 'Where are we' was on the tip of her tongue, but then she caught sight of something in her periphery. She looked up to see the angel who'd rescued her floating down to them. As it drew closer, the being was engulfed in a brilliant light. Just when she thought she'd have to look away, the light shrank in size and then faded completely, leaving behind a strange, almost pig-like creature with wings that fluttered down to rest on TK's shoulder. It was cute… but strange. Although, any instinct she had to be put off by the creature's appearance was overridden by the look on TK's face when he and the creature were reunited. He wore, undoubtedly, the most open and genuine smile Kari had ever seen on his face.

TK got to his feet, helped Kari to hers, and then said, "Come on. I'll explain everything, but I don't want to do it out in the open like this."

She wasn't really in a position to do anything but go along with this, so she followed TK as he took off across the open field they'd appeared in. Kari couldn't tell what they were running for until the field very suddenly dropped away down an embankment. TK's pace slowed just enough to prevent them both from tumbling headfirst over the edge.

Even so, she had to swing her arms in wild circles to avoid losing her balance as they skid down the embankment, sending loose dirt and pebbles every which way. She prepared to take off again the second they were on stable ground again, but TK turned back the way they came. She followed him to a spot where the pebbles grew into boulders and struggled to copy his movements when he hoisted himself on top of one. She lost sight of him almost halfway up and was beginning to panic—contemplating the possible dangers of calling his name (what were they even fleeing from?) when she crested the top of the boulder herself, lost her balance, and slid into a small cavern concealed behind it.

She could just see TK as he brought a finger to his lips to signify silence. She pressed her back up against the boulder they'd just climbed over so that she and TK were hidden in its shadow and didn't have long to wait before it became quite apparent what they were hiding from.

"The signal came from over here, I'm sure of it!" a shrill voice insisted from someplace above them. Was its owner standing atop the cliff?

"Well, where are they then?" a much harsher voice demanded in reply.

Kari held her breath at the sounds of what were clearly more than two pairs of feet slipping and sliding down the embankment after them. What was this? An entire search party?

There were scattered mutterings as she heard the group spread out a bit. Her breath caught in her throat when, at last, one roared in outrage. "Damn it! How are we supposed to show our faces around town if we can't even manage to capture a mere child?!"

"W-well," a higher-pitched voice cut in, "to be fair, the boy _has_ gotten awfully tricky as he grew older."

"Silence! The Emperor will tolerate no excuses! Let's keep moving… Numemon! Let's go!"

An odd squelching sound had been nearing their little cave's opening, but it began retreating at this call. Kari didn't dare peek through the opening to get a look at their pursuers. From the sounds of their gaits alone, she was fairly positive they weren't human. One was big enough to block out every ray of sunlight coming through their little doorway, and Kari's heart continued to pound long after the shadow moved on and their footsteps began to fade.

She jumped at TK's loud, relieved exhale. He grinned at her. "We're lucky it was only a Numemon that got so close. There's something endearing about them… but they're not too bright."

Kari didn't find this to be as reassuring as he seemed to think it should be. And then she spotted his own personal little winged creature crawl up to perch on his hat rather than his shoulder, and the dam broke. "TK, what _is_ this place? What's going on here?"

His smile didn't falter but grew sympathetic. "Sorry. I did promise you an explanation, didn't I?"

He scratched the back of his head and looked up at the little winged… thing on his hat. The creature shrugged. TK took another second to contemplate something before apparently reaching a decision. Slowly, he began, "Four years ago… we didn't just disappear. I mean, I guess we sort of did, from Earth anyway. The seven of us got caught up in the middle of the battle that night. And we ended up in another world."

 **…**

Yolei heard Davis before she saw him. There were only a few passengers waiting for transportation this late at night, and the sound of Davis's sneakers on the pavement was easily the loudest noise in the vicinity. They got a few strange looks as he skidded to a halt on the platform beside her, struggling to catch his breath.

"I'm here," he wheezed. "Where's Kari?"

"I don't know," she told him, biting her lip. "That's the problem."

She quickly ran through how their investigation had progressed while he'd been away. Davis bristled at the end. "That TC… I bet he has something to do with this!"

"We don't know that…" Yolei refuted halfheartedly. At this point, she didn't know _what_ to believe. But TK was definitely involved _somehow_. After all, Kari had disappeared while looking for information on him.

 _Stop that!_ her mind berated. _You don't know that she's missing yet. Maybe she got stuck in traffic or something and got back after Mrs. Kamiya called. Maybe she just hasn't had time to call you back yet…_

"So what are we doing here?" Davis demanded, interrupting her thoughts. Not that she really believed them anyway. "I say we go back to his mom's house and see if he's come back yet. And then we can corner him and press him for answers. He won't be able to avoid us in his own house!"

"But what if he's not even there?" she countered, cutting through his growing enthusiasm for the idea. "I want to go to Odaiba. Kari was going to see TK's father. I think the first step is seeing if she even made it that far."

Their ride came rumbling into the station then, giving Davis little time to argue with her. A part of Yolei was still worried he would be his stubborn self and stick to his own idea, rushing off recklessly to solve the mystery on his own, but in the end, he boarded the train with her. Yolei never thought the day would come when she honestly desired Davis's company. But if there was anyone else who cared as much as she did about Kari, it was Davis. And at this point, she would take anything over being alone.

 **…**

Kari was oddly… indifferent to this revelation. There was something building within her, but the fact that she had traveled to an entirely separate world… Well, after all that had happened, it felt fitting somehow. Like all the crazy theorizing and breaking and entering and stalking had finally amounted to something.

"The Digital World," she repeated slowly, remembering what he'd said before they'd run for cover.

"Right. And all the creatures who live here are known as Digimon. This is Patamon," he said, reaching up to rest a hand on the little winged creature's side.

"Nice to meet you!"

"Oh!" Kari exclaimed before she could stop herself. As if _this_ was the strangest development of the day. "You can speak!"

"Of course." Patamon and TK shared another look and a smile, and this time, it made Kari feel a little uncomfortable. It took her a moment to figure out why this was. The knowledge of Patamon's sentience and communication capabilities changed the way she viewed their exchange. No longer was she looking at a boy and his dog. Patamon was undoubtedly TK's best friend. Kari felt like she was almost… intruding. Like being the only acquaintance in a group of close friends sharing an inside joke.

But it wasn't long before TK turned back to her. "So I'd imagine you have some questions. I don't know where to start so… What do you want to know first?"

"How did we get here?" she asked immediately.

"Well, you remember that other world you were in, right?" She nodded. "We call that one the Dark Ocean. As far as we can tell, it's an… in-between world. It runs underneath _all_ the worlds, like a current, kind of. Darkness is universal and all that."

"Sounds more like a Dark River."

He grinned. "Like I said—kind of. We think the Digital World is already connected to ours. There used to be a direct path, but it was closed off when I was sent back the first time. So now you have to cross through the Dark Ocean to get here."

"The first time…" she repeated almost inaudibly. The lump had encroached on the back of her throat with a vengeance. Whatever had been building up inside her since she realized her answers were on the horizon was making itself more apparent.

TK nodded. "That night Highton View Terrace was attacked, a portal was opened between the Digital World and Earth. The seven of us were sucked through."

He looked as if he was going to continue, but his words cut off abruptly. She didn't have to wonder why. Tears were running down her face almost before she was aware of them. When she finally got her next words out, they arrived as a hiccup-y stammer. "So Tai… Tai was here?"

TK's expression was sympathetic but grim. "He still is. They all are."

 **…**

Even this late at night, there were people strolling the streets of Odaiba, but the halls of Fuji TV were all but deserted. The front doors had not been locked yet, but the woman behind the front desk seemed surprised to see them. "Can I help you kids?"

"Yes," said Yolei, trying to appear confident, like she belonged here. She had gotten Davis to agree on the way here to let her do the talking. "We're looking for Hiroaki Ishida. Is he still here?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"It's about TK," Davis cut in.

Yolei shot him a look and rushed to smooth over, "We're friends of his son."

"All right, I'll let him know." She still looked a little unsure, but she picked up the phone on her desk and dialed his office number. She explained the situation, listened for a minute, and then hung up saying, "Okay, I'll send them up." She looked at them. "Third floor, fourth door on the right."

The two tried not to look too relieved or giddy when they were actually let through. Yolei and Davis walked to the elevators at a controlled pace. It was only once they were inside and on their way up that Yolei realized, "We should have asked _her_ whether she'd seen Kari!"

Davis shrugged. "Whatever. We can ask Mr. Ishida about TK, too, while we're up there."

Yolei knew immediately from the curious look on Hiroaki's face that they were his first unexpected visitors that day. Her heart sank, but Davis was right. Perhaps he could answer some of their other questions.

"You said it's about TK? Is he all right?"

"We're not sure," Yolei answered. "Another friend of ours went looking for him, and now they're both missing."

"And we've already talked to his mom," Davis jumped in before she could stop him. "We know you're keeping his secrets, so don't lie! Have you seen Kari or not?"

"Kari? You don't mean Kari Kamiya?" His tone of voice stopped Yolei from berating Davis. TK's father looked almost frightened. Even Davis seemed to notice something was wrong.

"Yeah, that's right. So she _was_ here?"

Hiroaki shook his head. "No, I haven't seen her. You say they're both missing?"

"Yes," said Yolei. "Kari was actually on her way to see you. We've been looking for information on TK. Mr. Ishida, what is going on?"

He brought a hand up to rub his chin contemplatively. He still looked worried about something. Finally he sighed. "You two better take a seat."

 **…**

"What do you mean?" Kari asked, trying to get a hold on her tears. "Why are they still here? _You_ came back."

TK exhaled deeply. "I better start at the beginning. Come on."

He got up to climb back through the opening of their cave, and Kari followed him. Twilight had dimmed their cave to the point where she could barely see two feet in front of her face. She glanced around for their pursuers, but TK walked fearlessly back onto grassy terrain, settling under a tree where they would still have a clear view of the emerging stars. Kari reclaimed her spot beside him, and he began.

"The night we all met, we were all still in the middle of everything. We found each other in pairs. I lost track of my mom shortly after we got outside, but Matt had stayed behind to look for me. Then we ran into Sora and Mimi. And then Izzy and Joe. We were all running but trying to stick together, too. It was chaos. The destruction was caused by two giant Digimon fighting. A dinosaur and a parrot. I still don't know why they were fighting, but a portal had been opened between the two worlds. They'd just destroyed the building right in front of us… And then Tai appeared."

He grinned at her. "You should have seen him. The way Tai ran through the cloud of dust to get to us… He looked fearless. Like a hero straight out of a cartoon or something. He told us he'd brought all the other kids he'd found to a warehouse out by the river and that we'd be safe there. So that's where we were heading… But then we saw the other boy."

Kari realized she'd been holding her breath. "What? What other boy?"

"He said his name was Ryo and that he was here to set things right… I'm still not really sure what that meant. Anyway, meeting Ryo held us up. You see, we were already a team by then. Ryo was heading in the direction of the battle, and Tai wouldn't leave without him. Sora wouldn't leave Tai behind, and Mimi was sticking with Sora… It just went on and on. In the end, it didn't matter anyway, though. The battle came to us."

He paused, glancing up at the stars. "I'm not really sure how to explain what happened next. Before any of us could be hurt, Ryo started… glowing. I know now he must have been able to open a portal to the Digital World directly from Earth, but I have no idea how he did it. Next thing I knew, the light had swallowed all of us, and we woke up here."

"And then you met me!" Patamon cut in.

TK grinned at him. "Yeah. When we woke up, we each had our own personal little monster waiting for us. And we were connected by one of these." He held up a tiny blue… gadget of some sort. "This is a Digivice. With this, our Digimon can borrow our energy to Digivolve temporarily. Become an even stronger monster."

TK brought a hand up to Patamon, and Kari remembered the angel who'd rescued her. So that had been a Digimon too. Apparently the very same one who now rode atop TK's hat. Before she could fully puzzle through this, he held the device out to her.

"Here. This one is yours, actually. That's the original model. Mine changed form when I was sent back to Earth." He pulled another Digivice out of his pocket. Indeed, this one was a little bigger and had green plating around the sides. "I'm not entirely sure what the difference is. Just that this one granted me passage through the world's boundaries. I couldn't open a direct passage like Ryo, but it showed me safely through the Dark Ocean."

"Wait a minute. Back up," Kari said, holding up the hand with the Digivice in it. "What do you mean this one is mine? Does everyone get one?"

"No. Sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. When we got to the Digital World, our first priority was finding a way home. We figured the easiest way to do that was to find Ryo. He got us here, he could bring us back, but he was nowhere to be found."

"So how did you get back?" she asked.

"Well, we found something else first… Digimon were being infected by dark gears. The gears would drive them crazy, and they'd attack anything around them. Including us. Our Digimon were able to Digivolve and keep us safe, but we weren't making much progress… until we met Leomon."

"Leomon," she repeated.

He nodded. "Another Digimon. He told us we were the Digidestined—a group straight out of a legend in this world. Apparently, eight children were fated to appear when dark forces took over and save the world."

"That sounds… a little far-fetched."

TK grinned. "I don't know. Spend enough time in the Digiworld and nothing sounds crazy anymore. Leomon told us the black gears were being controlled by another Digimon called Devimon. So we set our sights on taking down him. And then everything started to get out of hand."

He paused again to organize his thoughts, and Kari found herself just waiting to see what came next. She had to keep reminding herself that this was real life now, and not something out of a storybook.

"The first problem was the eighth child. At first we thought it was Ryo. Who else could it be, right? But we still had no idea how to find him. And then Devimon caught up with us before we could."

"But you all escaped. Right?" That one sentence had set her mind racing through all the worst case scenarios again. Had TK been the only survivor? Was that why none of the others had returned?

"We did one better," he said, though his voice was oddly grim. "We beat him. Patamon Digivolved into Angemon for the first time at the last second to protect me, and we took Devimon down. Which shouldn't have been possible without the eighth Digidestined. Unless Devimon wasn't the great evil we'd been prophesied to defeat after all."

Kari felt like she was playing a game of Clue, struggling to fit the pieces together. "But… how does Leomon know any of this, anyway? Maybe he was wrong."

His grin told her he was pleased she was keeping up with his insane, convoluted retelling. "And that was the next suspicious thing. You see, the Digital World is true to its name. I'm not really sure how it came to be, but it's a little like living in a computer. Everything here is made of data. The Digimon themselves never really die. If ever they're destroyed, their data is recycled. The ones who've been corrupted, like Devimon, are purified in the process. But they come back in baby form, as an egg. When we first met Leomon, he materialized out of nowhere. Like, we could see his ones and zeroes binding together. That's not how a Digimon's reincarnation works. But we didn't know that then. And he appeared just in time to save us from a sticky situation with some of Devimon's minions, so we weren't gonna question it."

Kari's eyes widened. "So… he was created just to help you?"

"That's what I believe. He had knowledge and abilities the other Digimon didn't. He appeared again after Devimon had been defeated. He told us the eighth child was still on Earth, and then he opened a portal to send us back, but…"

"But what?" she whispered. TK appeared lost in his own memories.

"I was the only one Leomon got to… before Ryo appeared and killed him."

"What?!"

"Yeah. And his data wasn't just scattered. I could tell Ryo was _deleting_ him, piece by piece. He closed the portal, too, but I was able to make the journey back to Earth. But the others were stuck on this side of things."

"But you got back," Kari prompted. The suspense was just about driving her insane.

"Yeah… But only because of Patamon." The two shared another smile. "You see, your Digimon links you to this world. Patamon's data had to be recycled after the fight with Devimon, too. But once he was reborn as an egg, I could feel that connection calling me. Good thing, too. I thought I was going to lose my mind, trying to return to my life on Earth… knowing I'd left my friends behind. And in danger."

TK trailed off, his eyes downcast. Patamon climbed down to settle in his arms, a clear gesture of comfort. When he continued, his voice was quiet.

"I pretended I couldn't remember anything, because I knew I'd never get out of the hospital if I told them the truth. I'd just be transferred to the psych ward. Sometimes, my Digivice was the only thing that kept me convinced I hadn't just hallucinated the whole adventure. When I felt the call to return, I didn't question it for even a second. I followed the light through the Dark Ocean and wound up in the Primary Village, where all Digimon are reborn. Patamon was waiting for me there."

"But what about the others?" She'd gone back to holding her breath. Was this where she finally learned what had become of Tai?

"In the months I'd been gone, our team had fallen apart. The others were scattered across the Digital World. I've been following every clue I came across, but even the ones I found… Well, it's not a matter of just finding them."

"What do you mean? What's wrong with them?" she interjected fearfully.

"There's another piece to this puzzle. Each Digidestined has not only a Digimon partner and a Digivice, but a personal crest, too."

"A crest?"

He nodded and pulled forth a necklace from under the collar of his shirt. There was an unfamiliar symbol engraved on it. Like a sun… with a cape.

"This one is mine—the Crest of Hope. A Digidestined's crest is supposed to show their greatest inner strength. When that inner strength is corrupted… it's almost… completely debilitating."

"Corrupted?"

"Best Patamon and I can figure, opening the path between the Dark Ocean and our world has allowed some of that darkness to seep through."

"So they've all been… corrupted?" Her voice was barely audible. There seemed to be a disconnect between her thoughts and her feelings. She wasn't sure _what_ she felt.

"Maybe corrupted isn't the best word. They're all just a little… lost right now." He flashed her another smile, one of the genuine ones that she was just starting to get used to. They had finally moved past all the secrets. "But now that you're here, we're going to find them. And help them find themselves."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Well, I did warn you guys that this chapter was going to be a novel. And I actually cut myself off here. The next chapter is almost like a part two, but introduces a few more important plot points, and I didn't want this one to feel too rushed.**


	11. Commitment

**Well, I knew it would come to this sooner or later. I just didn't have time to write another chapter in the last month. (Yay, final exams and working retail during the holiday season…) But I will post the next chapter as promised. It would seem especially cruel to hold off, given that, like I said, this chapter is sort of like a part two to the last one. With any luck, maybe I'll have enough time during the break between semesters to write an extra chapter and get myself back where I was. Anyway…**

 **Oh, and also! I know it's been a few chapters since I've mentioned introducing characters from other seasons… I've decided to use only the Tamers. (Including season four would make things just a little too convoluted, and I ended up not needing them when I got a little farther in the planning.) And you'll see the first of that in this chapter.**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter ten:** ToastyToaster22, Sweet Cari, Guest, Guest, Guest, and Guest, MoonChildTM, **and** dnofsunshine **! I can't believe we've almost hit the 50-review milestone already! You guys have been awesome, and your continued enthusiasm is fabulous!**

 **Chapter Eleven: Commitment**

The two exchanged a glance before taking the seats across the desk. To Yolei, Davis always seemed a little fearless. (Stupidly so, she would have said in the past.) But even up-for-anything Davis was looking nervous now. Hiroaki sat stiffly across from them, his hands clasped tightly on the desk. But when he finally began the story, it wasn't where either of them were expecting.

"Three years ago, when TK came back to us, he wasn't… well. Physically, he was unharmed. He was in remarkably good shape, actually, all things considered. But mentally, he… wasn't all there. The doctors could barely get a word out of him. He spent the first week in a daze. Which I guess isn't much of a surprise. He was hardly getting any sleep, what with the nightmares. When he finally did start talking to us, it was too… measured. He claimed he couldn't remember anything, but Nancy and I got the feeling he just didn't want to talk about it."

He was quiet for a moment. And Davis never was good with a quiet moment. "So you really don't know what happened to him?"

"I didn't say that…" Hiroaki answered very softly. It took him another second to find his place. "There was one thing, from the beginning, that seemed to ground TK, bring him back to the present."

"What was it?" Yolei asked when it looked like he was in danger of getting lost in thought again.

"A little plastic… thing. We assumed he'd picked it up in the woods where they found him. But he held onto that thing as if his life depended on it. Got a little hysterical if anyone tried to take it from him. So we just let him have it. Later he told me it was called a… Digivice."

Hiroaki sighed, scratching the back of his head. He skipped ahead. "Almost a year after we got him back, TK disappeared again."

Yolei nodded. "Right. His mother told us that. She also told us that you know where he keeps disappearing to."

The man grimaced, reminding Yolei that TK's parents' relationship wasn't exactly… intact. She wondered if that was why Hiroaki had neglected to come clean and put his ex-wife's worries to rest. As if he could read her thoughts, he said, "Nancy seems to forget that we were _both_ going out of our minds that first time. I'm not trying to say I don't trust her, just… there's a reason I'm the one TK chose to confide in."

"So what _did_ happen?" Davis asked impatiently.

Hiroaki inhaled deeply. "TK described being transported to another world. A… _digital_ world, with monsters, where everything was made of data. He said he and the other kids who'd disappeared had been _chosen_ to save that world from some terrible darkness. I know, this sounds crazy," he hurried to add but stopped when he saw their intent expressions.

Yolei didn't have to tell him. They were so beyond crazy. She was starting to think she'd believe anything. Children plucked from one world to team up with digital monsters and save another? Why not? And Davis had been on that page from day one. So Hiroaki went on.

"Well, _I_ thought it was crazy at first. But it does explain a few things. Like how all those kids could just vanish into thin air. And TK showed me his Digivice—the little plastic gadget—and had me try to break it… It looked and sounded electrical but was completely waterproof. I took a hammer to that thing and couldn't make so much as a dent. And it only showed signs of life when TK was holding it… That was enough to convince me it wasn't of this world. And then I saw it."

"Saw what?" the two asked in unison.

"I saw TK leave. He says he can only get through the barrier between the worlds when he finds weak spots. I don't totally get that part. He says it's just something he can _feel_. But he found one when he was with me once. His Digivice started going crazy—I'd never seen it that active. And then TK started to glow. And then he was gone."

They were quiet for a moment. Then Davis said, "All right, but what does this have to do with _Kari_?"

"TK believes that Tai's sister is the eighth child—the final piece to the puzzle."

It surprised Yolei a little to hear him refer to her as 'Tai's sister'. That must be the way TK referred to her. How long had he had his sights on their friend? What did it even _mean_ , exactly, to be the eighth child? She asked as much.

"Well," Hiroaki answered slowly. "I'd be lying if I said I understood it totally myself. But TK said the crests were meant to represent each of the kids' innermost strengths. And that they're stuck in the other world because those crests have been tainted by the darkness they were all supposed to defeat. And if they're going to defeat it and find a way home, they need all eight crests together."

 **…**

"But what good will being together do if six of those eight crests are corrupted?"

TK grinned. "That's where we come in. I don't mean to _brag_ , but… Our crests are a little special. The crest of Hope can't _be_ corrupted. So there will always be at least one of us in a position to fight back and help the others. And the crest of Light is a little more mysterious, but it's believed to have the power to purify those who _have_ been corrupted."

Kari had not missed the lighthearted tone his words had taken. She was still a little doubtful herself. "How do you know all this, TK?"

"Like I said, I've been following every lead I could since I got back, trying to find the others. Some Digimon had seen Izzy and Mimi pass through their village, heading towards some old ruins. I didn't see either of them, but I did find a wise old Centarumon and some ancient cave drawings of the crests and an older model Digivice. To date, it's the only physical evidence I've seen of the legends Leomon told us. Centarumon knew all about the old stories of darkness and the crests."

"But what?" she pressed, for TK's bright expression had clouded over. And Kari had had enough of secrets. If there was any more bad news, she'd rather know it now.

"Well… You saw how a lot of the Dark Ocean looked half-formed. The Digital World can be like that too. I think it's still being created and will always be under construction, bits and pieces getting added on and reformed as long as there continues to be new ideas and developments back in our world."

"Right." What was she in a position to deny at this point? "So?"

"So there was a part of the ruins that was… different from the rest. It all _looked_ ancient, but this one section was… scratched out almost. Centarumon told me that there used to be a ninth crest in the legend… But that it had become almost taboo to speak of it. Most Digimon don't even know the eight-crest legend."

He looked like he really wished they could just pretend this wasn't so. But Kari wasn't willing to overlook any detail right now. "We can't just brush this under the rug, TK. According to this legend, we need _all_ the crests to stop this great evil that you're talking about. But we don't even know how many crests there are?"

"No," he admitted. "But I thought our first priority should be finding and helping the others. And then, once we're back at full power, we can tackle the rest of the legend together."

Well, it didn't sound like such a bad plan, when he put it that way. It wasn't like she had a better one. So she didn't argue. They were quiet for a moment, looking up at the stars.

"We can head for the ruins tomorrow, if you want," TK offered. "You can meet Centarumon, and we can start from scratch. It could be useful, having a fresh pair of eyes on the case."

"Tomorrow?" she asked, startled back to reality. "You want to do this _now_?"

TK looked equally surprised. "Of course. It took this long just to get you here."

"Yes, but I can't _stay_." She became a little incredulous at his confused look. "TK, I just disappeared into thin air. I can only hope Yolei is covering for me tonight, but I can't stay away any longer than that. Do you have any idea what that would do to my parents? In fact," she said, on a roll now, " _you_ shouldn't stay here another day! Your mother's a wreck. She knows your dad's been lying to her."

TK winced. "I know this is… hard. There's no perfect solution. But I kind of thought you'd think like I do."

She stared at him. It took her a moment to realize why this conversation hurt so much and put it into words. "No, you _don't_ know. Because you were whisked away to make friends and go on adventures and be a hero. Well, I'm not a hero, TK. And if _you'd_ been the one who got left behind… If _you'd_ had to watch your parents mourn for _your_ brother, you wouldn't even _think_ about doing this to them, running off and disappearing without so much as a goodbye, at a moment's notice, the way you do."

"Kari…" Her tears had returned with a vengeance. Because a part of her _did_ want to forget it all and stay here with TK. She was _this_ close to seeing Tai… She couldn't stand to wait another minute.

But she would. Because all it took was one thought of her mother to know she could never be that callous. She didn't even want to hurt TK, really. She couldn't throw the worst of it at him.

 _Do you realize that some days it would have been a_ blessing _to have proof Tai was dead?_ she wanted to shout. _To finally be able to put an end to all this waiting and wondering, one way or another? As long as there was some hope he would return, we couldn't even mourn properly._

But she couldn't say that. It wasn't TK she was really angry at. In his own way, she knew he had suffered too. Made it past the first hurdle only to lose his brother later. But she _was_ angry. At this world. At whatever had stolen Tai and the others away and caused so much heartbreak. Had left six families afraid to mourn, yet unable to move on. She _would_ be coming back. She was going to defeat this great evil and bring her brother home. But she was going to do this right.

"You do what you feel you have to, TK," she said, trying to soften her tone a bit. "I'll be back as soon as I can—as soon as I can find a way to get away without being missed."

She turned away from TK's dismayed look then. Her Digivice, which had remained in her hand this entire time, grew warmer now. The sound of frantic clicks and beeps—the sound of data being processed?—reached her ears then. It was no struggle to find the entrance to the Dark Ocean this time, with her Digivice guarding the way. The portal opened its doors before her as if it had simply been waiting for her to ask. And Kari was on her way back home.

 **…**

Cody let out a sharp cry as he fell to one knee, just managing to maintain his grip on the shinai he held out before him, as his grandfather bested him once more. He'd stopped being surprised long ago about the old man's strength and agility. He'd learned to never let his guard down. It had been a long time since one of their sessions had gone this badly.

His grandfather sighed, straightening up. Realizing this meant the end of today's lesson, Cody lowered his weapon, removed his mask, and sat resting on his knees, his head bowed in respect. And when his grandfather addressed him, it was just as bad as he'd been expecting.

"You've been distracted lately. Is there something you'd like to tell me, Cody? It isn't wise to shoulder a heavy burden alone."

"I'm not alone, Grandpa." And while this was true, he still felt… dirty. Disappointed in himself. He hated to tell a lie, but he didn't see how he could explain the truth. But perhaps he could settle for a half-truth. "I've… made some new friends lately."

"Oh?" His grandfather seated himself before Cody, his gaze piercing. "Perhaps these are friends you would be better off without, if they're causing you such distress."

"No, it's not like that." His grandfather remained silent, waiting. "You already know Yolei. It's her friend—Kari Kamiya. And a boy in their class named Davis. Oh, and TK, too," he added, almost as an afterthought, a little unsure of that one himself.

"That's quite a change in such a short time," his grandfather commented.

"Yes, but it's not that they're bad influences," Cody hurried to defend. "It's just… Kari and TK… they're dealing with some things. You've probably heard of them. Their brothers are still missing."

"Ah, yes…" his grandfather replied, thoughtful. "From the incident four years ago."

"Right. The anniversary just passed. It's just… been a difficult time. For all of us."

"Indeed." His grandfather rose to leave the training room for the night. "Do your friends know that night marks the anniversary of your father's death as well?"

Cody winced. His grandfather had always been able to see right through him. "I… didn't mention it."

"Why not?" His tone was carefully unassuming. The worst kind of disappointment. "Your father was a hero. Anyone would think his son would be proud."

"I am! It's just… He's gone. There's nothing we can do for him now. But Tai Kamiya and the others are still out there somewhere…"

"Why do you believe that?"

"Oh, it's just… a feeling Kari has," he mumbled.

"A feeling," his grandfather repeated. Then he smiled. "That's awfully unscientific for you. Perhaps these new friends will be a good influence."

Cody didn't answer, and his grandfather left to retire for the night. The boy remained where he was for a moment before getting up to remove his kendo gear. It was true. He couldn't seem to get his mind off of Kari and TK and the mystery surrounding them. Well, if he wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight anyway, he might as well put his curiosity to good use.

Cody wasn't sure where to start with the missing kids. He felt like they'd covered those bases as best they could. The others could continue following those leads. Cody would focus on what he did best.

How was it possible for these monsters to exist? What level of sentience did they have? If they came from another world entirely, how were they making the journey?

He pulled out his laptop, searching anything and everything that felt relevant. He came up with a lot of mythological stories, but none of them felt quite right. Perhaps his own prejudices were showing through, but Cody wanted to find answers that felt more… real. Whatever role magic played in this whole mess, he had to believe it was grounded in their reality.

But when he did find something that felt like it was on just the right side of possible, he couldn't say for sure that it was related. Cody soon found himself lost in pages and pages of research on artificial intelligence by one Janyu Wong. The research looked to go back to the man's college years. But, finding a brief blurb about his team of college researchers breaking up for undisclosed reasons, it looked like Wong's ambitions had been scaled back a bit. These days, his work with AI was aimed at enhancing video games, and there didn't seem to be any noteworthy breakthroughs.

Cody was about to move on… when he caught a glimpse of a promotional video further down the page. It was an extremely brief clip, unnamed in any way. A project so new it didn't yet have one? But it was the subject matter that made Cody stop and stare. The video showed the destruction of a bridge, an oversized bird on one side, an enormous bipedal dinosaur breathing fire on the other. The entire video was just that one blast from the dinosaur—which was flickering as if it would just glitch out of existence any second now—that took out the bridge. It likely wouldn't have seemed like anything special to another's eyes. Just some generic video game violence. But Cody watched that one clip play on its continuous loop until his eyes began to water.

It was eerily similar to the scene Kari had described. Too similar to be a coincidence, surely? But what did that mean? Had Janyu Wong also seen something that night? If so, Cody didn't have to wonder why he'd never come forward with his story. Just a few days ago, Cody wouldn't have believed it either.

Cody jumped and whirled around at the sound of a knock on his door. He couldn't help feeling a guilty look cross his face, seeing his mom standing in his doorway. He tried to control his expression. It wasn't as if he'd been doing anything he shouldn't be. He had left his door open, after all.

"Cody? I saw your light was still on. Don't tell me you're still doing schoolwork this late?"

"Oh, no… It's just…" He pushed his chair back from his desk, giving his mother a clear view of the screen. "I was just looking at a game that's in development."

"Really…" his mother looked surprised, but pleasantly so. Had his grandfather shared their earlier conversation? Was she also under the impression that his new friends were a good influence, teaching him to cut loose? "Well, don't stay up too late."

But she closed the door behind her without any real reprimands. Nevertheless, Cody bookmarked the page and shut his laptop down for the night.

Would finding Janyu Wong give them their first definitive answers, he wondered, getting into bed. Perhaps he held some other piece to the puzzle that would make everything a little clearer. This hope was finally able to put his mind at ease a bit, and he settled into a thoughtful sleep.

 **…**

Yolei's mind was not nearly as calmed as she and Davis left the TV station. If anything, Hiroaki's confirmation of all they were up against had left her more frightened than before. Was that it then? Had Kari crossed over into this digital world? Would she be struck there with the others, or would she travel back and forth like TK?

It was driving her crazy to think she'd already given all the support she could. Honestly, how could she be expected to just step back and let Kari face the real danger on her own? After coming this far together? But most irksome of all was Davis, who didn't seem to comprehend any of this.

"So what now?" he asked, entirely too casually for Yolei's liking. "I think we should meet back up with Cody and fill him in. He'll probably be glad to learn it's a computer world we're trying to get to. It doesn't sound as, like, magical." He actually laughed a little, and Yolei snapped.

"What are you _laughing_ at?! It's not a game, Davis! TK's dad said only a Digidestined can go to the Digital World. That means if Kari's already there, there's nothing we can do to help her!" Couldn't he see that?

But Davis was stubbornly… Davis. "Says who? If that's the case, then I'll just _become_ a Digi-whatever!"

"That's not how it works!" she snapped. How had she been so grateful for his company a mere hour earlier?

"Well, how would you know?" he shouted back. "You've already given up!"

He was such a kid sometimes. Yolei knew it wasn't really Davis she was angry at. It was how useless she felt. But she couldn't stand to look at him for another second. She whirled around. "Ugh! You know what? I'll just find another way back. Don't follow me!"

"Yeah? Well… Same to you!" Davis huffed lamely behind her.

Yolei let her adrenaline push her forward for a while, trying to blow off steam. Her anger really was misplaced. She was planning to loop back around once she figured enough time had passed for Davis to be long gone. But the farther she got from the station, the more she calmed down, the more nervous she started to get. Hadn't her initial worry for Kari been that something would happen to her on these unfamiliar streets?

She stopped under a streetlamp. Maybe it was time to pack up her pride and turn back. After all, if ever was the time to band together, it was now, right? They should be avoiding these petty squabbles in the face of the looming, greater dangers, right?

Yolei sighed. She supposed she should try to catch up with Davis sooner rather than later, make her apologies and put this behind them. Her dad always warned her that pride could be dangerous.

But when she turned around to go back, a surprised shriek burst out of her. There was a boy standing under the streetlight behind her, separated by just a few feet of shadows. She hadn't heard anyone following her, and he looked almost oblivious to her presence now, staring off into the darkness. But then he spoke, and who else could he be addressing?

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

His voice was dull, with the very minimal amount of inflection in his words. Her own voice was little more than a frightened whisper. "What?"

He finally turned to her, and she brought her arms up in front of her almost on reflex. His eyes were as dull as his words. "The children. They've fallen. They were meant to save our world, but they've fallen."

"Do you… Are you talking about Tai and Matt and the others?"

"The connection has been made," he answered mechanically, only confusing her more. "Will you help them?"

For a moment there was silence. And in that moment, Yolei found her resolve. Here was her chance to do her part, provide more than moral support. "Yes. I will."

The boy held out a hand then, and in it sat a strange little device. Yolei crossed the distance between them, reached out to place her own hand on the device in his, and was enveloped in a bright light.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **And so the plot thickens! Even more. This story is going to be so busy by the time all the players are in the game… But I am so looking forward to it! Happy holidays, everyone! And thank you for reading!**


	12. Encounter

**Well, I did not end up getting a second chapter written over the course of my winter break, but that's okay. My** _ **Lost**_ **schedule is still mostly on track. I realized pretty quickly that getting two chapters written just wasn't happening. The winter break is always busier—as well as being shorter—and even after the holidays are over, my store does inventory the first week of the year. And then I was sick the whole week after that. And not like the kind of sick where you can be productive too… But the kind of sick where it's exhausting just to lounge around the house all day. There were literally times I just put my headphones in, lay back on the couch, and stared at the ceiling for a few hours. Not to mention, chapter thirteen is another novel. And before I knew it, school was starting again, and here we are.**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter eleven:** dnofsunshine, Angelfish369, ToastyToaster22, Berry Doyle, **and** Sweet Cari! **Almost every one of you mentioned the mystery of the boy at the end, and it kept me… anchored, I guess I'd say. It's funny. I've found that I sometimes get so caught up in planning the later story—where that reveal has already happened—that I forget that you all aren't in my head with me.**

 **Chapter Twelve: Encounter**

Kari opened her eyes very slowly. She was unable to see more than a foot in front of her due to the misty atmosphere of the Dark Ocean, but for the first time, there wasn't even a touch of anxiety in her thoughts. This in-between world was mysterious, but it no longer frightened her. TK had been using it as a gateway for years, after all.

Sure enough, this time she was able to see a clear path winding through the fog, shining under her feet just like the Digivice in her hand. The shadowy creatures that had surrounded her on her last journey kept their distance now, shying away from the light.

Kari followed the path with her head held high. It didn't feel like long at all before the light grew brighter. But she wasn't afraid, even when it blinded her completely, and in a few seconds the light died down, and Kari found herself back on Earth.

Her Digivice had not been kind enough to direct her right back to her apartment, however. Kari's journey through the Dark Ocean ended with her on some nondescript stretch of pavement. She couldn't place the town in the dark. With few other options, she started walking. She passed a few residential streets and a bakery, but the front lights were all out for the night. She'd have to look for an open store to get directions. Or maybe she'd get lucky and hit a train station first. But she ran into a distraction almost immediately after leaving the neighborhood with the bakery behind.

She couldn't make out the words at first, but a girl's voice cut through the night's peace. Her first thought was that she'd found someone to ask for directions. On the heels of this was the realization of the girl's angry tone. Maybe something was wrong. Kari picked up the pace.

She found herself in a mostly-empty parking lot. All she saw at first was the girl standing at the other end of the lot. Red hair stuck out from her ponytail in stiff, angry spikes, matching the scowl on her face. But Kari couldn't see what the girl was glaring at. Feet planted firmly on the ground, her face was turned up to the sky. She wasn't left in suspense for much longer.

Just as Kari moved to step inside, something flew down in front of her. Knocking her off balance. She landed on her butt on the pavement with a hard, "Oof!" She looked up to see a white cat clinging to the chain link fence beside her with its large paws. But there was something… odd about it. It was wearing gloves for one, and Kari spotted a ring sparkling on its tail in the moonlight. But she didn't get a chance to examine it further.

"On the fence, Renamon! Don't let it escape," the other girl called, her voice harsh. And a second later, something much larger than the strange white cat dropped down from the shadows above her. It was a fox… but even stranger than the cat, standing tall and graceful on its hind two legs and wearing gloves as well.

Gloves that Kari got a close-up look at as the fox—Renamon?—wasted no time in lunging after the cat immediately after touching down. The cat sprang out of the way, leaving Renamon's claws tangled in the fence. But it immediately turned to face its prey for the next round, and Kari frantically pushed herself to her feet. The cat had entered a crouch, perhaps getting ready to fight back, and Kari's muscles finally caught up with her racing mind.

"Stop!" Kari cried, propelling herself forward so she was positioned between the two creatures. _Digimon_ , her mind supplied. Because what else could they be?

She could feel the tension radiating on either side of her—the cat on one, the fox on the other. She could clearly read the sentience in Renamon's eyes as she hesitated. She had no trouble differentiating between Kari and her target. For some reason, that awareness seemed to make this whole violent scene that much worse.

"What do you think you're doing, little girl? Get out of the way." The one barking orders had moved to get a better view of the three of them, eyes locked firmly on Kari.

Little girl? Intimidating as she was, from this angle, Kari could see that the girl wasn't any older than she was. She didn't recognize her, but then she didn't recognize this neighborhood either. The girl probably went to the local school.

"Rika," Renamon said softly. She raised a paw ever so slightly, pointing at Kari's hand. In which, Kari realized now, she still held her Digivice. But it had changed during her journey through the Dark Ocean. It now looked identical to the one TK had, only the plating around the sides was pink.

The aggressive girl came closer, slowly. Kari didn't relax even slightly, and the girl's pretty purple eyes narrowed suspiciously. In fact, as she came closer, Kari found herself taking note of the strangest, minute details. The girl's features were almost too perfect—model material, for sure. And her clothes, while plain, were distinctly high-end. This neighborhood wasn't terrible, but Kari got the feeling she wasn't a local. A rich girl, slumming it? And what was she doing with these Digimon?

"Who are you?" Rika demanded. Only then did Kari realize that there was something in her hand as well. It would have to be a different model, certainly, but it could definitely be a Digivice. A blue one. "Don't tell me you're a Tamer too?"

"A Tamer?" she repeated, confused. "So… are you _not_ the ninth Digidestined?" For this was the conclusion she had come to.

Rika's brows furrowed even more. She seemed to be struggling to hold on to her intimidation factor amidst her own confusion. It was her turn to repeat the strange terms being thrown at her. "Digidestined? What are you talking about?"

Kari wasn't sure who was more confused at this point, and the Digimon's postures seemed to reflect this. "But if you're not a Digidestined, how did you get to the Digital World?" Rika didn't answer, but the look on her face made it clear that she had no idea what Kari was talking about. "If you've never been to the Digital World… how did you meet Renamon?"

Before Rika could answer, a harsh light lit up the street behind them. Headlights from a car. Rika snapped into action at the sign of the intrusion. In a matter of seconds, Renamon had scooped her up and was whisking Rika away across the rooftops, little more than a shadow in the night.

Kari was slower. The headlights had almost reached the entrance of the parking lot when she and the cat darted to a shadowy corner where they weren't in danger of being seen. They remained crouched there until the car had passed and then turned to each other. Kari could only imagine the shocked look on the cat-Digimon's face was an exact mirror of her own.

The Digimon brought her paw up to the Digivice in Kari's hand. It had been glowing faintly this whole time, but a frantic beeping started up once it was in contact with them both. Their eyes met again. Kari wasn't entirely sure what to think, but she was certain that her life was about to be irreversibly changed. Again.

"You have my Digivice," the Digimon said, nearly a whisper. "Are you the partner I've been searching for?"

"I'm Kari," she answered. Because that was the only answer she had.

"Gatomon."

"Gatomon," Kari repeated slowly, taking in her new partner and all that meant.

 **…**

This was not the first time Wormmon was grateful he was so small. Not that any of the others ever really bothered him, but the Emperor's hideout had the feel of a place that ought to be snuck around. Remaining as inconspicuous as possible at all times had become an ingrained habit.

The Emperor was out at the moment. He didn't know where. The Emperor didn't share that sort of information with Wormmon.

Wormmon scuttled into the room with the screens. It was always such a dismal-looking place, even when everything was alight with activity. Now only the nine screens in the middle of the room remained turned on. One was pitch black, as always. And one was bright and alive, as always. The remaining seven were usually a fuzzy gray, showing nothing but static. And six still were. But one of those seven had come alive since Wormmon had last checked and was shining fiercely.

His first reaction was joy. Joy and relief that reared up within him so suddenly that it nearly brought tears to his eyes. But this joy was followed by a reflexive dread. The Emperor was not going to be happy…

 **…**

By the time Kari found a train station, she learned that she was not as far from home as she'd thought. Her travels through the Dark Ocean had simply dropped her off in a direction she didn't usually go. It was still the dead of night when she got home, but that was better than dawn, which had been her original estimation.

She pointed out the terrace of her bedroom to Gatomon before going inside. She wasn't yet sure how she was going to keep a large digital cat hidden in their small apartment. One obstacle at a time.

As she'd feared, the sound of her key turning in the lock was enough to make a light snap on in the next room. Her mother had been a light sleeper for years. Four, if she wanted to be exact. Kari worked to cover up her wince before they came face to face.

"Kari," Mrs. Kamiya said, surprised. "I thought you were staying with Yolei tonight?"

"I was going to," she answered, thinking quickly. "But then, her sisters were both sick, and I didn't want to catch anything this close to school starting up again, so I came back. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

Luckily, her mother was easy enough to assuage. As soon as her parents' bedroom door clicked behind her, Kari hurried to the phone to update Yolei. But to her dismay, it was a frantic Mrs. Inoue who answered.

"Oh, Kari, thank god! Is Yolei still with you? She should have called by now."

Her instinct to cover for her friend was immediate. "Yes. She's staying over here tonight. I'm so sorry. She just fell asleep when I realized she forgot to call."

Not that long ago, Kari wouldn't have listed lying as an ability she was particularly adept at. But she managed to ease the worries of Yolei's mother as well. She only wished she could say the same for her own. When she'd arrived home, Kari had been exhausted. Now her mind was racing once more.

If Yolei wasn't home, covering for _her_ , then where was she? How was it that a day with so many breakthroughs had left her with even more mysteries than before?

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Here's your short chapter in between two massive ones. Even so, I feel like enough happened to excuse its shortness. The first of the Tamers has been introduced. Almost all the actors are in play. We're making progress, one step at a time. Thank you for joining me!**


	13. Sincerity

**We have reached the first of what I consider to be the big plot chapters. If you pay attention to the chapter titles at all, I'm sure you'll see the pattern soon enough. This was an interesting one to write because, except for a few short little scenes that I added to give a better sense of time passing in the main storyline, this chapter was written almost exclusively to follow one character. The next chapter goes back to being something of a scrambled mess, jumping from one character's story to another. (Though, personally, I kind of like writing that way, and it's a little bit inevitable if we're to keep up with everyone.)**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter twelve:** Guest, ToastyToaster22, ReaperOfShadows125, Berry Doyle, Sweet Cari, **and** dnofsunshine!

 **Chapter Thirteen: Sincerity**

Later, Yolei wouldn't be able to explain how it felt, exactly, to cross the portal to the Digital World. And perhaps it was just her prior knowledge of what this world was and how it worked that would lead her to describing it as the sensation of having all her parts disassembled and then put back together. But once she was whole again, Yolei found she was still very, very lost.

She got to her feet very slowly, her hands trembling. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the moon being the only source of light. But when they did, she found… a whole lot of nothing. She stood on a crude dirt path alongside an empty, open field of grass. There were no landmarks for her to try and place her location, and most importantly, she was alone. The strange boy who had appeared so suddenly was nowhere to be found.

However… Yolei suddenly realized that the strange device he'd been holding remained in her hand. Except. She could have sworn it had been smaller and blue back in her world. Perhaps it was not just her own parts that had been reassembled during the journey. Now the device had grown to fit perfectly in her hand, with red grips around the sides for her fingers. She was sure it must be one of the strange devices Hiroaki had been describing. A Digivice.

Yolei took a moment to examine it more closely, fascinated. TK's dad was right… It seemed to be responding to her and only her, the string of data running across the little screen at a much faster rate when she skimmed a finger across its surface. It looked and sounded mechanical… but she couldn't see any screws or openings… no hind of how it had been put together in the first place. To Yolei, this sort of mystery was near impossible to simply push aside… but she would need better lighting first.

Just as she was giving up on feeling out any buttons, the screen lit up with a hologram. She jumped but brought the image up to her face for a closer look when she realized there was no danger. A map was projected out towards her with coordinates and a guiding arrow, but what the map was guiding her _to_ she had no idea.

Well, here she was, lost in a foreign world. Yolei figured she had nothing to lose now. She'd wanted to be of some use to Kari. It was time to follow through. If ever there was a time to be brave, it was now. So she made a note of her current coordinates and took off in the direction provided by the arrows.

Yolei walked for a long time and encountered nothing but more nothing. She'd never experienced true wilderness quite like this, untouched by humankind. She supposed it was beautiful in a way. But Yolei had grown up in the city, and soon the utter emptiness of her surroundings was more unsettling than anything else.

She kept walking. And walking. And walking. Until the periodic pulsing sound from the map seemed in tune with her very being. Until she was too exhausted to be unsettled. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe she wasn't in the Digital World after all but some strange in-between world that was just entirely empty. The familiar fear was just beginning to creep up on her… when Yolei lost her footing.

Her eyes flew open as she tumbled down the little embankment with a shriek. She was wide awake once more when she landed on her butt in the dirt, if a little winded. She leaned forward for a better look at her new surroundings, only to jerk back. She had landed on a narrow ledge. Below her was another steep drop and then a fast-moving river. She brought a hand up to her chest in relief at her luck and then looked down at the Digivice in her other hand. She _did_ seem to be closer to the destination on the map. Yolei took another look around and spotted something else in the distance. The river flowed down into a cave and blocking that cave from the outside world… Iron bars! She was sure of it. This was the first sign she'd seen of sentient life since arriving in this world.

Yolei took another second to catch her breath before getting resolutely to her feet. _No going back now_ , she reminded herself and started a careful pace down the ledge in the direction of the cave.

 **…**

"So what now, TK?" Patamon crawled up his partner's shoulder with a worried little frown. The boy had awoken shortly before dawn, and the two sat in silence, watching the sun rise. TK had taken Kari's departure rather gracefully, but Patamon was uneasy. "This kinda means we're back where we started."

"Kind of," he agreed, getting to his feet. "But that just means we still have a mission to complete. Kari said she would come back, remember? So until then, we'll just have to do our part as best we can."

Patamon relaxed a little and did his best to smile. TK didn't possess the crest of Hope for nothing. Patamon would do what he could to make sure TK never lost that optimism. And so they set out for another long day.

 **…**

The sun was just beginning to rise when Yolei finally reached the cave, and she was exhausted. It had been a harrowing journey, powered mostly by adrenaline. She'd moved with the knowledge that a single misstep could send her crashing down to a much rougher landing, and she was feeling the effects of that heightened awareness now.

Yolei stifled a yawn as she pressed herself up against the bars, peering inside. The cave was dark, but she could see a torch set up inside, its flame throwing a little light, at least. The river snaked to the left, leaving her a sizable beach to stand on. And on that beach, inside the cave, she could just make out an iron cage, housing something she couldn't quite a name to.

All she could be certain of was that the creature inside the cave was alive, but she couldn't be sure for how long. It drooped a little more even as she watched, sighing softly—in pain or despair, she couldn't tell. Not only that, her Digivice was going haywire, pulsing in her hand like it had its own heartbeat.

Yolei glanced around, trying to determine her next move. The bars were all evenly spaced apart and too close together for her to ever hope to fit through. But there at the end… yes! The cave wall sloped upwards at an awkward angle, giving her just enough extra room to squeeze through the gap.

And that was one more obstacle overcome. Once inside, Yolei rushed over to the imprisoned creature and crouched down beside the cage. With no way to know how or why it had ended up in this state, she kept her voice to a whisper. "Hey, are you okay?"

The creature was… odd. If it wasn't in such poor condition, it might be cute, she could give it that. The creature was a small pink… bird. Though really it looked like a little pink ball with bird features. A tiny beak jutting out from its front, wings sticking out at its sides, and the most striking feature of all. A single bright red feather sticking up where its tail would be. Big blue eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice.

But the creature didn't seem able to manage much more than another breathy sigh. The sound made her heart ache. Yolei's hand closed a little tighter around her Digivice, which had finally calmed down and grown very warm.

"You're going to be okay," she whispered. "I'm going to get you out of there."

But how to go about doing so? There weren't any large rocks around to try and smash the cage open. And even if there were, the sound could bring the creature's captors running. Biting her lip, Yolei ran her fingers over the bars. Well, they certainly were… solid. She realized the little bird's eyes had remained open, weakly tracking her every move. Yolei steeled her expression, nodding once and trying to look like she knew what she was doing.

At last, her fingers found the big bulky padlock keeping the cage shut tight. She searched her pockets fruitlessly for a second, hoping to find a stray hair pin or something, knowing all the while that she would come up empty. Yolei sighed, resting her head against the hard metal. The exhaustion was catching up to her, making all of her muscles ache. But she had to save the little creature in the cage. It was depending on her. It had no one else.

Slowly, she brought her other hand up to the bars too, the one still clutching her Digivice. Its steady warmth was comforting, and she wished she could share that comfort with the creature. Yolei jumped a little when the device suddenly began to glow again. The light was reflected for a moment in the little bird's eyes, and then it died down with a loud metallic click.

Hardly daring to believe her luck, Yolei gave the padlock an experimental tug. It came away easily, and she pulled open the cage. Finally pocketing the Digivice, she reached both hands into the cage to gently pull out the bird. She held the creature close, feeling its heartbeat against her own, and got to her feet.

Yolei didn't know what lay before her. All she knew was that the thought of retreating back out of the cave made her feel very exposed. So, feeling herself starting to fade, she ran deeper into the cave. Yolei ducked into the first crevice she found that could fit them and wedged herself up onto the little ledge made by the rack, hoping this would be enough for any passersby to overlook them. And finally, the rescue complete, soothed by the tiniest sense of safety, Yolei let herself drift off to sleep.

 **…**

Centarumon didn't turn from the wall of the ruins he was scrutinizing when TK and Patamon entered, but this was not so strange. TK had become well acquainted with the wise old Digimon's serious nature.

"You have returned," he commented mildly, eye scanning the rough images before him. At last, he turned to face his visitors. "I am glad you are well, child. But perhaps your movements are becoming over conspicuous? There was a lot of activity in the forest yesterday."

TK smiled humbly. "Yeah, we had a… surprise yesterday. Patamon had to Digivolve, so they had a way to track us again. But we got it sorted out. I hope it didn't cause any problems for you?"

Centarumon shook his head and made a sound that TK would have described as a snort had it come from a less dignified throat. "Hardly. The Emperor's lackeys believe me to be an old fool, studying prophesies that their master has already overwritten."

TK grinned, stepping closer. "Well, it's a good thing we know better, right?"

Centarumon's eye sparkled from the depths of his helmet. If he'd been able to see his face, TK was sure he would finally have proof he'd made the old Digimon smile. "Indeed. _They_ are the fools. To not realize the prophecy could simply rewrite itself to adjust for their interference…"

His words sent a sharp thrill down TK's spine. Atop his hat, he could feel Patamon pushing himself up a little too. "Has something changed again?"

Centarumon simply nodded to the wall before them. TK gave it his full attention until he finally spotted something that had not been there the last time. "Is that… an egg?"

The Digimon nodded. Along the wall were images of the eight Digivices and corresponding crests—as well as the barely visible ninth crest—each one in varying states of erosion. Only TK's crest of Hope remained looking as if it had been etched into the wall just the day before. But now a tiny little egg had appeared next to the crest of Sincerity with lines shooting out from it. These lines were meant to portray light or power. He had seen them somewhere else too.

TK ran into the next room where a different part of the story was played out on the walls. This room showed eight figures on the ground and a dark, ominous cloud up at the top. But between those two were eight monsters in various forms, those same jets of light connecting each form, as well as connecting the monsters to the figures below.

"Yes, I came to the same conclusion," came Centarumon's voice behind him. "Those markings seem to denote Digivolution. More specifically, the connection between the Chosen Digimon and the Digidestined that allows for Digivolution. If I had to guess, I would say that egg is a new type of Digivolution. Perhaps a type that will allow the others to Digivolve even without getting their crests purified first."

TK's eyebrows shot up out of sight. "You think so? But… how is that possible? Wouldn't the other Digimon still need their partners to Digivolve? And if the partners were in a state of mind clear enough to help them Digivolve, the crests would become pure, and we wouldn't _need_ some roundabout way to Digivolve."

"It is not for me to understand all the workings of this world. But perhaps there is more than one new development under day," Centarumon said simply before pointing to another section of the picture.

It took TK a second to spot the extra change. At first the eight figures of the Digidestined just looked a little… blockier. It was only after much scrutiny that he realized there were extra lines entirely. But only attached to six of the eight. And what was it supposed to mean? Were they shadows? Second figures standing behind the originals? He only knew one things for certain. Things had gotten very complicated, indeed.

 **…**

Yolei was woken by the sound of a gasp. Her eyes flew open, and she immediately tried to stretch out from her cramped position. Her head struck the rock wall she was settled up against and for a moment she saw stars. But when her sight cleared and the pain started to dull, she had to resist the urge to scream. Staring in at her crevice, carrying a tray of food and water, was a plant monster.

It stood on two legs and would not have been much shorter than Yolei, had she been standing up. But its legs ended in vine-like roots and its arms in claws. There were sharp little teeth sticking out of its grotesquely wide mouth and large pink flower adorning its head that Yolei may have found pretty in other settings. As it was, she viewed it as being more akin to a Venus flytrap. Predatory.

Yolei turned in towards the wall, trying to shield the smaller creature in her arms from this new threat. "B-back off! I'm warning you!"

She supposed it would have come out sounding a little more authoritative had her voice not been shaking so much, but the attack she feared didn't come. The plant creature started to reach out for her then seemed to think better of it, moving very slowly to set down the tray first.

"Don't be afraid," the creature whispered in a voice that was a little rough but also… sweet. "I won't hurt you, but how did you get here?" She shook her head sharply. "Actually, never mind that right now—how's Poromon?"

Yolei stared blankly at her for a second before glancing down at the little ball of feathers in her lap. And then at the tray of food on the cave floor. Had this new creature been coming to take care of the little one?

"Poromon?" She repeated the name slowly. Then made a split decision and uncovered the little bird, holding it out for inspection. "I think it's really sick. Can you help us?"

"Of course. Poromon will be fine. He's just really weak." She winced ruefully. "I haven't been able to get away to check on him lately, and the Emperor's lackeys would just as soon not take care of him. Their orders are just to keep him under control. I'm Palmon, by the way."

Palmon gently took Poromon from her and knelt down beside the tray. Poromon seemed barely able to keep his eyes open, but Palmon was able to slowly coax some food into him. Yolei finally eased herself out of the crevice and stretched out.

"Palmon? Who _is_ this Emperor? Why did he want Poromon locked up in the first place? And wait… how did you get in here? I mean, _you_ don't serve the Emperor… right?"

Palmon sighed, her big green eyes becoming impossibly sad. "No… I serve the Princess."

"The Princess? Don't the Princess and the Emperor work together?"

"Not exactly." Palmon seemed to consider something for a moment. When she met Yolei's eyes again, she was very serious. "Do you know the story of the Digidestined?"

Yolei felt a little jolt go through her. She nodded quickly. "So you're both… Digimon then?"

Palmon nodded. "Yes. At one point, there were only Digimon in this world. But there was always the prophecy of the coming darkness and the eight humans who would arrive to save us from it. The Princess was one of those eight. And I was her partner."

Palmon's hands had stilled, so Yolei knelt down beside her to make sure Poromon kept eating. He did seem to be regaining strength already. "Palmon… Who _is_ the Princess?"

Palmon's eyes finally filled with tears. "Her name is Mimi, and she's my best friend in the whole world. She's brave and honest and she hates fighting more than anything. When the Emperor took over and split up the land, we weren't strong enough to stop him. The crests started to lose their shine, and we couldn't Digivolve anymore. We ran away." Palmon hung her head. "And then we found this awful castle. One of the Emperor's generals is in charge of this area. When he saw we couldn't fight, he offered Mimi a job as the Digimon Princess, where she'd be safe and treated like royalty. We've been here ever since."

So this was what Hiroaki had meant when he'd described the crests as being 'tainted by darkness.' Had this 'Emperor' targeted all of their weaknesses like this? But why?

"Who _is_ this Emperor you keep talking about? Why is he doing this? What does he gain from hurting all of you?"

Palmon shrugged despondently. "Control, I guess. We don't really know who he is. Just that he's human. He showed up in the Digital World one day with a dark Digivice and started calling himself the Digimon Emperor. He found a way to control the Digimon here through dark towers and collars and took over."

"Another human apart from the original eight? Well, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised… _I_ made it here." Yolei thought for a moment and then pulled the little red device from her pocket. "The Emperor's Digivice… Does it look like this one?"

She could tell she'd startled Palmon. The Digimon's mouth fell open, giving her a better look at all those jagged little teeth. "Yes! It's exactly like that one, except his is black. But… if you have a Digivice, that makes you a Digidestined too."

Palmon looked down on Poromon again who was now working through the meal completely unsupported. "Maybe… I never considered that there could be _more_ Digidestined out there. This Poromon was being kept prisoner here because it was reacting to Mimi's crest of Sincerity… the same way I used to. It was the first time the crest had glowed—even a little—in years. And it seemed to clear Mimi's head a bit. So the Emperor locked him up here to monitor that. He wasn't born that long ago… If I had to guess, I'd say he was created just to be your partner."

" _My_ partner?" Yolei looked down at the little creature with a new sense of wonder. Poromon finally finished eating and seemed to be back at full strength. He smiled at Yolei and nuzzled up against the hand that held her—their—Digivice. Immediately, both Poromon and the Digivice were enveloped in a powerful glow. The light grew until Yolei had to look away, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little bird growing and growing…

When the light died down, she was looking at… a much bigger bird. He stood on two legs and the feathers covering his body and wings had darkened to a deep red. Only his head was white, and a strap kept the one elegant feather she'd admired before in place. Yolei was having a hard time believing this Digimon had been the cute little ball of feathers she'd held on her lap just a few minutes earlier. But any doubts she had were assuaged by those familiar bright blue eyes smiling at her now.

"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," he said, fluffing out his feathers. "I am Hawkmon."

"Finally?" she said with a little laugh, surprising herself with the emotion behind it. "I've only known about all this for a day."

"Nevertheless, I am your partner. I look forward to working with you." Where Poromon had been cute, Hawkmon was refined. Very proper, just a little stuffy, and with an accent distinctly… British. It made her smile and wonder again at how these creatures and this world were created.

"I'm Yolei. It's nice to meet you too. Though I'm not entirely sure what it is we're working on."

Hawkmon blinked as if he'd thought that part was obvious. "Why, whatever you think is right."

"This might be the Digital World's attempt to right itself," Palmon posited thoughtfully. "Mimi's crest shouldn't react to anyone but me. But already you've made it glow. Maybe that means it's not Mimi's crest anymore. Maybe the power has been transferred over to the two of you. It could be that _all_ of the crests are choosing new owners. Maybe the Digital World has decided it needs new saviors…"

The word 'savior' echoed around her head, feeling too loud. Too… heavy. All she'd wanted to do was help her friends. She wasn't _hero_ material. Yolei quickly brought her hands up as if she could physically ward off this idea. "Um, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, okay? I'm still not sure I even really understand the _problem_. And… are you really okay with just handing over your crest?"

There was a steely quality in Palmon's eyes that Yolei never would have expected out of a plant monster. "If it helps Mimi, I don't care who has the stupid crest."

Well, that settled things, didn't it? Yolei had never met Mimi, but right now, if Yolei was the only one who could help her, how could she possibly just look the other way? "Okay. Lead the way."

Mission decided, the three resolutely got to their feet. Palmon did take the lead, saying, "This cave is the very outskirts of the dungeon of ShogunGekomon's castle. He's the general who rules this region for the Emperor. The Gekomon make up his army. Out there, they're more like actual soldiers, keeping the peace. But the Gekomon in the castle are just glorified servants, waiting hand and foot on the Princess. Without specific orders to stop us, I doubt they'll give us any trouble."

She was right. They encountered more Gekomon—strange, bipedal frog Digimon with tuba-like instruments wrapped around their bodies—than Yolei could count as they made their way up through the proper dungeon and into a glamorous main entry hall, but no one tried to stop them. The few who did give them second looks were easily dissuaded by a firm glance from Palmon. After a while, Yolei ceased to be surprised. This castle was huge and it had to be a huge job to keep it in such good shape.

Palmon kept them moving—up, up, and up, one elegant staircase after another. When they finally reached the top—where the ceilings were still impossibly high—they stopped in front of the most regal-looking set of doors yet. Yolei took a deep breath as Palmon pushed them open.

"Princess, there's someone here to see you."

A high-pitched laugh came from the other room. "Is he here already?"

The girl who walked out to meet them certainly _looked_ like royalty. Granted, the sparkly shoes, puffy dress, and tiara adorning her styled hair helped, but it was more than that. It was the way she carried herself. Yolei had seen the pictures sent out four years ago when Mimi Tachikawa had gone missing, and she'd heard a little about her from Kari's meetings with the other families. She'd been the only child of a wealthy couple who were heartbroken after her disappearance. From what she'd heard, Mimi had always been treated like a princess. Stepping into the role now likely felt completely natural. But was she really the type of person who felt no gratitude towards the people who allowed her to live so comfortably?

"Palmon? Who are these people?" Her mouth had popped open into a perfect little O at the sight of them. But Yolei realized then that something was a little off about her. Mimi's eyes seemed a little clouded. As if her curiosity couldn't quite reach the surface. It was then that Yolei spotted something else. A necklace hung around her neck, with a little square charm at the end. The crest, no doubt. And Palmon wasn't wrong. From here, it looked like a lifeless piece of jewelry.

"This is Yolei. She's a Digidestined. Like you."

Mimi blinked. "What? But she can't be…"

Yolei slowly held up her Digivice, and Mimi's eyes were immediately glued to it. Palmon went on. "And you remember Hawkmon. He was the Poromon who was connecting with your crest. Even when I couldn't. Why do you think that is?"

"Why?" Mimi repeated faintly.

"Palmon thinks the crest has chosen a new owner," Yolei spoke up finally.

"But… that can't be…"

"I don't really want that either," she admitted. "I don't want to take your crest. But if you can't use it, someone has to. Your friends still need you, Mimi."

"Stop!" Mimi's voice was suddenly strong again. "I've heard enough! Palmon, take these two to the dungeons. And you are to address me as 'Princess.'"

Palmon shook her head sadly. "You never needed a fancy title to be a princess to me, Mimi. You were always so kind and brave, never afraid to be yourself. But then you started to doubt yourself."

"I don't really know what it means to deserve and be the bearer of the crest of Sincerity," Yolei went on. "But some power out there seems to think I do. And there are people depending on me. So I guess I'd better find out. Maybe I've never even been completely honest with myself, so…"

Yolei took a deep breath, aware of three pairs on curious eyes on her. "I'm too stubborn. I have a hard time admitting when I'm wrong. I'm selfish. I've spent my whole life fighting with my siblings for my parents' attention. When I found out Hawkmon was _my_ partner, I felt… special. Like maybe I really could do this. Normally, I get scared off too easily. I can't begin to imagine all you've seen since you arrived here, but I understand why you might have wanted to hide away from it in this nice, _safe_ castle. I tried to hide too, for a little while. I pulled away while my friends threw their all into investigating this world, pretending there could be some other explanation. But the problems don't go away just because you aren't looking at them. Your friends are still out there somewhere, Mimi. And maybe their castles aren't so safe."

Mimi brought a trembling hand up to her crest, which had begun to glow.

"What do we have here?" Yolei jumped at the sudden gravelly voice. Standing behind them in the doorway was the visitor Mimi had been expecting before they'd barged in. Suddenly, Yolei knew exactly why all the ceilings were so high.

This Digimon was another frog, except bright orange and giant in every sense of the word. It had a tuba over each shoulder, reminiscent of cannons. And a dark collar snug around its neck. Yolei knew immediately this was the general Palmon had mentioned. ShogunGekomon.

"Your Highness, these two are the usurpers the Emperor warned us about. We must have them detained immediately."

Yolei shrank back, not managing to escape his shadow. His voice was pleasant enough, but she didn't like his sneer. She had no doubts about who had the real power here.

She turned back to Mimi with a new urgency. "Listen. I'm not the type of person prophecies are written about. I'm not generous like Kari or brave like Davis. I'm not as levelheaded as Cody… I've never even been as dedicated as TK. To _anything_."

Mimi's eyes had drifted up to the general, but now Yolei had her full attention. "Did you say TK?"

"Yes! He came back for all of you, Mimi. He's been moving back and forth between the worlds for two years, trying to help you all."

"What? No…" Her voice was weak, shaking. "No, he can't come back. He was supposed to be safe…"

"But he wasn't, Mimi," Yolei rushed to assert. "I talked to his dad. He said TK could barely function, knowing he'd left you all behind."

"No!" The wail ripped out of her and, very suddenly, the fog clouding her eyes cleared away. Mimi crumpled to her knees, and ShogunGekomon ran out of patience.

"Seize them!" he ordered. The servant Gekomon were not his well-trained soldiers, however, and their hesitation gave them all just enough time. Palmon shot vines out from her fingertips, grasping onto a bookcase and dragging it across their path, blocking their attackers' way. Yolei ran forward, throwing herself down beside Mimi and grabbing her free hand.

The Princess was nearing hysterics, shaking her head so hard that her tiara went flying across the room, lost in the destruction. Her words were punctuated by sobs. "No! I don't want to know! I can't take any more fighting!"

Yolei's grip on her hand tightened as ShogunGekomon roared in anger, the sound much too loud for this space. Her own voice was shaking and pitched a little too high as she asserted, "Mimi! We have to do something!"

Her friends' words came back to her then, impossibly clear in the chaos.

 _I think, in this case, not choosing_ is _a choice._

 _If you think I'm_ not _scared… Well, that's the craziest thing so far._

 _If that's the case, then I'll just_ become _a Digi-whatever!_

She squeezed Mimi's hand and repeated what she'd been telling Kari since their investigation first started. "We're in this together. I know you're scared. I don't like fighting either. I've already told you that I'm not the bravest or strongest or most dependable person out there. But I swear to you, right now, that I'm going to _become_ that person."

Mimi finally looked up, meeting her eyes. There was a moment, when their eyes locked, when everything seemed to stop. And then, the crest of Sincerity began to glow again, at full strength this time, the light shooting out from between Mimi's fingers. In tandem, Yolei's Digivice began to shine, a holographic egg shot out of the screen, patterned with a teardrop-shaped image with two inner circles. The same image, she saw now, on Mimi's crest of Sincerity.

The egg paved a straight path for Hawkmon, where it was absorbed into his data, and Hawkmon too began to glow. But it was a familiar glow this time. And Yolei was less surprised when her partner's form began to rapidly change and expand.

But this didn't stop her from gasping as she took in his new, completed transformation. Her partner no longer resembled a bird. His shape resembled a human body, swathed in white cloth, with a headband and mask covering his face. Only a bright red tuft of hair sticking out from the back of his head indicated this Digimon's previous form. There were definite plan influences this time, physically stating the bond they now shared with Mimi and Palmon. His arms were vines, his hands blades. And she saw another giant shuriken tool secured to his back. For a moment, she could only stare in awe. Her little bird had become a deadly ninja.

"Hawkmon, you…" She couldn't find the words.

"It's Shurimon now," he told her, his new voice deep. "And we've got work to do."

She nodded, pulling Mimi up to her feet too. Palmon had been fending them off alone with her vines but was starting to tire. And then ShogunGekomon burst through the debris.

Mimi kept one hand clasped in Yolei's. She finally brought the other one away from her crest, letting its glow light up the room without restraint, and pulled something else from the folds of her dress. With a start, Yolei realized it was a Digivice like her own used to be. But after a moment, she frowned down at it. "What? It's not working."

Palmon shook her head, staring up at Shurimon. "This isn't a regular Digivolution. It uses the power of the crest almost as an armor. This is amazing! You've found a way around the Emperor's Digivolution block!"

Mimi's partner quickly shepherded the two girls to a corner of the room where they would be out of harm's way. And not a moment too soon. The general let out another roar, and this time, it was accompanied by a blast of wind from each tuba. Shurimon used his new, springy limbs to jump over the attack, using his blades to root himself to the ceiling.

There was one stroke of luck, at least. Cowed by their leader's power, the Gekomon were staying out of the way. The debris Palmon had piled up had been blown against the opposite wall by that single attack. Even so, Palmon remained firmly between the girls and the danger. "Shurimon! Aim for the dark ring around his neck!"

Yolei's partner nodded and dropped lithely down behind the general. Before the larger Digimon could get himself turned around, Shurimon wrapped his own legs around ShogunGekomon's, tangling him up. His next movement was so quick and fluid, Yolei gasped again in admiration. Shurimon twisted his body up, pulling the shuriken off his back as he did so, and used his momentum to bring the sharp edge down hard on the dark ring around ShogunGekomon's neck.

There was a moment, accompanied by an awful scream from the victim, where it didn't look like the ring would give. But then, finally, it shattered, falling to the floor with a resounding clang before dissolving back into data entirely. Freed from the Emperor's influence, ShogunGekomon looked dazed. He wobbled for a minute before toppling over, bringing Shurimon down with him.

"Oh!" Yolei finally let go of Mimi's hand, rushing over. It was a bruised-up Hawkmon who crawled out of the wreckage, and Yolei didn't hesitate to wrap him up in her arms. "Hawkmon! You're you again! That was amazing! _You_ were amazing!"

Her partner chuckled weakly in her embrace. "Yes, well, only because you allowed me to be amazing. I must say, baring your soul was an interesting battle strategy."

Yolei laughed, tears of relief streaming down her face and into his feathers. "I had no idea what I was doing! But you were great!"

"I'd say we make quite a team."

She nodded, but it dimmed her euphoria, just a bit. It was a reminder that the war was still underway, even if this battle was won. There would be future battles. Yolei looked up and saw the Gekomon surrounding their leader as he finally regained consciousness. She saw tears of joy on many of their faces as well. It was a wonderful scene. But when the excitement of this victory died down, there would be decisions to be made, and frankly, Yolei couldn't begin to imagine what came next.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **I think we can officially say this story is truly underway. I don't know if I can be counted on to write any more chapters this long… But I really wanted to get this whole event in one.**


	14. Preparations

**Not gonna lie. If ever there was a chance of a chapter being late, it will be the next one. School is eating me alive this semester. There are times when even I'm surprised I'm still keeping my head above water. And now I've got projects coming up on top of the regular workload. Yay…**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing chapter thirteen:** ReaperOfShadows125, Berry Doyle, dnofsunshine, Sweet Cari, **and** ToastyToaster22. **I had a lot of fun writing that chapter, so I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy it also. And thank you** FlightfootKeyseeker **for taking the time to review chapters 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, AND 13! I loved reading all your questions as you worked through the chapters. Questions are the kind of constructive criticism that I love—even if most people wouldn't really consider them to be such—because they ensure that I'm asking myself those questions, in case I wasn't before. They keep me on track. So thank you!**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Preparations**

That made three screens alight with activity. The Emperor had only been gone for a day and a half, and Wormmon was right. He was not happy with these new developments. Not at all. The bug Digimon cowered under the desk as a pair of Gazemon were destroyed in his rage. Their data scattered at the press of a button.

Wormmon knew the real source of the Emperor's frustration lay on the desk above him. Two crests, one dull and lifeless, the other sparkling and alive but out of reach. Wormmon, too, had heard the rumors that the crest of Light had rehabilitative powers, but they had yet to see the proof of this.

But apparently one of the other crests had found a way to rehabilitate itself. Which could mean disaster for the Emperor's reign. Which was causing smaller-scale disasters close to home.

As the Emperor barked orders to those brave enough to still stand at command, Wormmon scuttled away. His presence wouldn't be missed here, and perhaps he could find something out about the most recent crest development before the Emperor got everything back under his control.

 **…**

Kari was grateful to find Gatomon already curled up fast asleep in her bunk when she finally turned in for the night. As long as the day had been, she knew she would have stayed up all night as well for a chance to talk more with her new partner. There were so many questions still to be answered.

But they could wait until the morning. And late morning at that. The exhaustion finally caught up with her when she lay her head down and closed her eyes. By the time Kari woke the next day, both of her parents had already left for work.

She was grateful for this too. She had the house to herself and took her time putting together a late breakfast. Gatomon had remained fast asleep, curled up in a tight little ball on the bed, when Kari got up, and she'd quickly pushed any thoughts of disturbing the Digimon aside. If Kari had been exhausted from her own adventure, she couldn't imagine how Gatomon must be feeling.

She really had no idea what Gatomon had been through, she realized now, putting aside a portion of her meal for the Digimon. Well, she supposed that wouldn't be the case for much longer. She had grown so used to the answers being far out of reach, but Gatomon was waiting in the next room. All she had to do was ask.

At the last second, Kari doubled back and filled a bowl with milk as well before heading back to her room. All of the two questions racing through her mind ground to a sudden silence, however, when she pushed open the door. Her eyes scanned the room once. Then a second time. Then again and again until there was no mistaking it. Gatomon was nowhere to be seen.

 **…**

Kari was not the only one who slept late that day. In fact, Davis's slumber likely would have continued if not for Jun's appearance outside his door around noon. His eyes flew open as she raised a fist to his door a few times and called in, "Hey, Davis, you plan on getting up sometime before tomorrow?"

He grumbled something incoherent about _sisters_ into his pillow as she moved on, but the damage was done. He wouldn't be falling back to sleep now. His glare was still in place as he sat up with exaggerated slowness—honestly, was nothing sacred anymore? –but he was up.

"Little late for breakfast, don't you think?" his mother asked as he plunked himself down at the table. She was hurriedly collecting her things, on her way to work, and she had already whisked herself into the next room by the time Davis muttered back, "Not late enough…"

But he began to truly wake up over breakfast. In truth, there was nothing Davis would have liked more than to go back to bed and lounge around the house all day. His muscles were still feeling the effects of his soccer camp and the crazy trek across the city with Yolei the night before. But there was still so much to be done, and they hadn't actually managed to accomplish anything in regards to Kari. It sent a little jolt through him—washing away any remaining vestiges of sleep—realizing that Kari could still be out there somewhere in a strange, possibly dangerous world.

They needed to regroup… But he doubted Yolei would want to see him after their last conversation, he reflected with a grimace. Well, no matter. He hadn't been joking. He _was_ going to find a way to the Digital World, no matter what it took. And maybe Cody would be able to help him find a way to do it. The younger boy deserved to be filled in anyway. Yeah, patching things up with Yolei could wait until after he'd caught up with Cody. But first…

Davis's movements were as quiet and slow as they'd ever been as he crept down the hall. He could hear the shower going—Jun must have just been getting up herself. Very slowly, very carefully, he reached out and twisted the bathroom doorknob. Perfect. Jun hadn't bothered to lock it. Well, that was what his sister got for waking him up so rudely and then being so careless.

Davis was meticulous about his actions, confident in the knowledge that his sister couldn't take a short shower if her life depended on it. He gathered all of his things and made sure to leave the front door wide open before filling a dish with cold water and creeping back down the hall. He eased the bathroom door open without a sound, letting the steam envelop him as he stepped inside. He grinned. Jun hadn't heard a thing.

In one fluid motion, Davis swung the dish up over the side of the shower curtain, dumping the freezing water over what he hoped to be his sister's head. And then he booked it back down the hall before Jun's satisfying shriek of outrage could even meet his ears. He didn't stop, knowing full well his sister wasn't above grabbing a towel and charging out after him in nothing else. He was out the door before she got a chance, laughing without restraint, leaving the bowl spinning on the table, ready to face the day.

 **…**

Mimi and her own Digimon partner remained locked in each other's embrace for a long time. Yolei couldn't blame them. Though her grip had loosened, she still held Hawkmon close, and the stuffy little bird had yet to voice a complaint. Had the original Digidestined been facing this sort of danger and excitement on a regular basis? For all these years? Or at least the first year that TK had been with them?

If so, Yolei could hardly blame Mimi for getting worn down by it all. The mere thought of facing further danger herself was enough to make her shake. But when Mimi finally pulled back, there was a strength in her eyes and a steadiness to her voice that Yolei never would have expected.

"Oh, Palmon… I'm so sorry."

But Palmon shook her head vigorously. "Don't apologize! It was my job to keep you on track! I wasn't strong enough to make you face your fears."

Mimi shook her head too, albeit with a gentler expression on her face. "There will be time to discuss all this later. For now, we have some preparations to make."

The former Digimon Princess got to her feet, looking no less regal for her dishevelment. She shook herself out a bit and then strode confidently over to the disoriented heap that was the Emperor's general.

"ShogunGekomon. It's nice to meet you. _Really_ meet you. I hope we can continue to work together now that the Emperor has manipulated us both."

The massive Digimon blinked blearily at her for a moment. Even freed from the Emperor's influence, Yolei thought he looked decidedly… grouchy. And she tensed up when a fierce glare overtook his features. But Mimi remained strong. And her confidence was rewarded.

"That _Emperor_ ," ShogunGekomon growled. "He'll regret the day he tried his mind control on _me_!"

His words were accompanied by a cacophony of shouts and cheers from the Gekomon who finally seemed to have overcome their shock. Mimi's smile was genuine but tight and determined. "Excellent. But let's not be too hasty. We need to make all the proper preparations."

ShogunGekomon turned his beady glare on her. "Now listen here, Princess. You've spent the last two years in this cushy castle—"

"No, _you_ listen," Mimi cut in, her hands on her hips. "You want your revenge on the Emperor, and you'll get it. But we're _not_ going to go charging in there without a plan. Not while my friends are still out there somewhere, possibly at his mercy. The Emperor has already shown us that he's capable of hacking into the Digital World's very code. I don't want any nasty surprises if he realized we're fighting back too soon. So let's do this right, agreed?"

Yolei didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until the immense Digimon finally backed down. "Fine. But you better be right, Princess."

"I am," she answered stoutly. "And the name's Mimi. The Emperor is expecting you to report back today, right?"

The former general nodded.

"You'll give that report as a video call from here. Tell him Poromon was causing trouble again, but you got things under control and you'll be staying just a little longer to keep an eye on things. The images of those screens are never the clearest anyway. We'll fashion a fake dark ring out of fabric and cardboard or something. Just try to act as submissive as possible."

She left the Gekomon to their encouragements then and turned to Yolei with a wink. She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's terribly uncouth, but sometimes there's nothing you can do but be the bigger bully."

Yolei just nodded dumbly, starting to feel a little lost as the pace around her picked back up. She finally got back on her feet, following Mimi as the older girl swept into the next room. This one was clearly her personal quarters and was just as spacious as all the rooms that had come before it. Yolei stood a little awkwardly off to the side of the bed as Mimi threw open the doors to her wardrobe with a flourish. She contemplated its contents for a moment before decisively stripping out of her extravagant dress.

Yolei politely averted her eyes, only looking back when the sound of fabric tearing reached her ears. Mimi had changed into a fitted, short-sleeved shirt, a short skirt, and a pair of boots that reached almost to her knees. She watched as Mimi ripped off a wide stretch of the princess dress and fastened it around her waist so that the ruffles accented one side of her skirt as well. Maybe her hair wouldn't be so meticulously styled for long, and maybe the colors she'd donned were a little too bright to be practical, but the effect was clear. The princess persona had been dropped for one more akin to a warrior.

Mimi's eyes were clear and bright as she caught sight of Yolei taking in her new image. "I think this is a better look for me, don't you? Now, I suppose we should get down to business, huh?"

Her gaze softened a bit as she took a seat on her enormous bed, inviting Yolei to join her. When she did, Mimi said, "I know this all must be a bit overwhelming, but I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me your story."

So, taking a deep breath, she did. Yolei explained how she and Kari had become friends shortly after the original Digidestined's disappearance. The Inoue family had been one of many to relocate. As the Kamiyas' apartment building had remained relatively undamaged, Kari's family had stayed put, hoping against hope that Tai would find his way home. She explained watching her friend go through the stages of loss but also the general normalcy of the next four years. And then how TK's sudden appearance had turned their lives upside down. And finally, how their investigation had come together, leading to her own walk through the streets of Odaiba the previous night.

Mimi absorbed this all thoughtfully but suddenly sat up ramrod straight at her description of the boy who'd brought her here. "You saw Ryo?!"

Taken aback, it took Yolei a moment to pick that name out of her memory of Hiroaki's secondhand tale. "You mean… The boy who transported all of you here?"

Mimi nodded, her mouth set in a serious line. "Sounds like him… And I don't know anyone else who can travel between the worlds like that. Or disappear afterwards so completely. I wish I could tell you what this means… We never did figure out what Ryo wants. I wonder what he's been doing all these years…"

"He said the children had fallen…" she remembered slowly.

"Well, I suppose that's true enough," confirmed Mimi. "All but TK and Kari."

"But there was more…" Yolei shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to remember it exactly. "'They were supposed to save our world, but they've fallen.' That's what he said. _Our_ world. Almost like…"

"Like he's _from_ the Digital World," Mimi finished for her. "I mean… I guess he did always act a little… strange."

"He sounded sort of… robotic when he talked to me," said Yolei. "Like he was working off of a script or something. He didn't really respond to anything I said."

"Well, if you're right, he's the most humanlike Digimon I've ever seen. But we have more pressing things to worry about right now. Tomorrow, Palmon and I are going to set out to track down the others, but if we're going to keep fooling the Emperor, someone needs to stick around and watch over things here. I'm sorry. I knew it's a lot to ask of you. But I don't think we can get you home until all this is figured out anyway. So what do you say?"

The brief clarity she'd attained through their Ryo brainstorming had vanished. Once more, her mind was reeling with the suddenness of it all. She tried to focus on the facts. She'd come here to help Kari, and Kari was still out there somewhere. She couldn't look for Kari if she was stuck in this castle. But Mimi was better equipped to help her friend than Yolei was. Better equipped to help _all_ of them. And she was right. Whatever her decision, Yolei had no way of returning home right now.

She looked over at Hawkmon, patiently awaiting her answer. She remembered _his_ answer when she'd asked him about what, exactly, they were meant to be doing together. _Why, whatever you think is right._

Finally, she turned back to Mimi, a new determined glint in her eyes. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Excellent." Mimi smiled, taking something from Palmon's outstretched hands. The tiara that had been thrown across the room in the struggle. She situated it atop Yolei's head with all the grace one would expect from the former Digimon Princess, approving her own work with a nod. "Let's get to work then."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **I don't even know what to leave for an ending note. I'm typing this up while waiting for one of my midterms to be posted… Fingers crossed that you hear from me next month.**


	15. Questions

**Well, it may be rather late, but I managed to get in update in this month after all. (And what a month it has been; I didn't underestimate that, let me tell you…) I feel a little bad leaving you all with even more questions. I swear it's all coming together. Sooner or later…**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter fourteen:** FlightfootKeyseeker, ToastyToaster22, dnofsunshine, Berry Doyle, Sweet Cari, **and** Guest! **And thank you** Lord Jaric **for reviewing most of the chapters! It was a lot of fun to see you go through the story, and yes, while I'm trying to keep things recognizable, this story is a bit of an AU. So please, don't stop calling me out on things that don't seem right to you! But some things** _ **have**_ **been purposely changed.**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Questions**

Kari froze… and reminded herself to breathe. She placed a lid on her mounting panic, slowly setting the dishes down on the desk. She had to stay calm and think logically. Just 24 hours earlier she'd been running from actual monsters in a digital world. This was laughably manageable by comparison. So she took a deep breath and a good long look around the room. The window to her little terrace was shut tight against the summer heat, and the apartment was small enough that Kari would have noticed if Gatomon had tried to sneak out the front door while she was in the kitchen. Which didn't leave the Digimon with too many options. Kari carefully lowered herself to the floor, peering under the bottom bunk.

Sure enough, Gatomon was crouching in the darkness with the dust bunnies. She hissed when Kari's face appeared before her, claws on full display through her gloves. But Kari couldn't bring herself to feel very threatened. Maybe it was the way the Digimon's entire body trembled.

"It's okay," she soothed, keeping her voice low. "I promise, you're safe here. It's just you and me."

Gatomon didn't appear convinced. The look in her eyes was still decidedly feral.

Kari thought for a moment and then got back up. She grabbed the pink Digivice before reclaiming her position on the floor. She held out the Digivice in as unthreatening a manner as possible. "See? We're a team now, remember?"

This sight finally calmed Gatomon down a little. Kari watched her muscles relax one by one. She sat back up as Gatomon crawled out from underneath the bed. Kari kept her movements slow as she pulled her partner into her arms, but Gatomon made no move to resist.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Gatomon nodded, only a slight tremor remaining in her voice. "I woke up, and I couldn't remember where I was. For a minute, I thought that other girl had captured me."

Kari held the cat a little tighter. "Why would she want to do that?"

Gatomon shrugged. "The same reason everyone else does, I guess. To get to you."

Kari resisted the urge to shudder. "How long have you been on the run like this? And how did you get here? You must have started out in the Digital World, right?"

Gatomon nodded. "In the beginning, it was just me and Patamon and Gennai. He used to tell us that it all started with Hope and Light. The other crest partners came later."

"Gennai?" Kari asked, interrupting already. After all the information TK had just thrown at her, it seemed hard to believe that there was still more to be uncovered. But Gatomon nodded.

"A being as old as the Digital World itself. He looks a little like your people, but he's something neither human nor Digimon. He watches over the Digital World and keeps things in order. At least… he's supposed to…"

Gatomon frowned, reflecting on those simpler times. Kari waited until she was able to continue. "Gennai always told us of an old legend regarding the Digital World. About human heroes destined to make the journey between the worlds and save ours from a terrible darkness. And how we had been created specifically for the purpose of helping you. …But that's not how it happened."

"What _did_ happen?" Kari asked, a hushed quality to her voice. And she was feeling a little breathless. Here was someone who might be able to fill in the holes in TK's story.

Gatomon's expression turned almost mournful. "Only seven of you made the journey. Gennai did what he was supposed to… He sent the seven corresponding Digimon partners to the arrival point… but Wormmon and I were left behind."

"Wormmon?"

Gatomon tilted her head up to look at her partner's face, and Kari allowed the cat to twist around in her arms. She herself took this opportunity to move them off the floor to the couch in the next room. It sounded as if they were in for quite a story, particularly when her Digimon partner answered simply, "The ninth partner."

A little thrill went through her. "So there _is_ a ninth Digidestined? TK said there were some ancient ruins hinting at a ninth human, but he wasn't sure. Do you know who it is? Is it this Ryo person who was with them?"

Gatomon blinked her large, curious eyes at Kari's barrage of questions. "No. Ryo isn't human either. And there aren't nine Digidestined. There are ten. Originally, at least."

" _Ten_?" she repeated.

The cat Digimon nodded, her expression solemn. "I'm not surprised TK doesn't know. We're made of data, remember? Gennai reconfigured the seven's memories before he sent them to be with their partners. He told us that we weren't _supposed_ to know. He wouldn't say why."

"But… that doesn't make any sense. Why would he send you out into danger without any guidance?"

Gatomon's tail flicked thoughtfully. "I think Ryo knew… He was the key. The center of it all. If the other nine Digidestined had all come together the way you were supposed to, Ryo would have been the leader. But then you didn't go with them."

Kari's head was spinning. There was a sickening feeling of being manipulated rising up in the pit of her stomach. What was going on here? Magic and prophesies of saviors had been mind-boggling enough, or so she'd thought. Now it was starting to sound more like a story or a game. Like the Digidestined were all role-playing chess pieces being set up in a very particular way. She tried to reign those thoughts in for now. "Okay… But what about Wormmon's partner?"

Gatomon shrugged. "I don't know. The same day the seven Digidestined arrived, Wormmon's Digivice and crest went dark. And Gennai started to go downhill…"

"Downhill how?" Kari didn't think her apprehension had abated even a little since the conversation started.

Gatomon stretched in Kari's lap, seeming a little uncomfortable, her partner thought. "Gennai's not human, remember. And he's not like most Digimon, either. We can be reprogrammed or have our data rearranged with the right know-how, but once that's done, we still have the power to think for ourselves and make our own decisions."

"And Gennai doesn't?"

"That's the impression I got." Gatomon stilled for a moment, and Kari got the feeling she was about to impart something she'd been pondering for a long time. "…I have this theory that Gennai was created with the Digital World itself. Almost like he's an earlier model. He had his role in the prophecy, and that was that. When the script suddenly changed, he didn't seem able to adapt with it. So when things didn't go as planned, he changed the story in the other partners' minds, I guess hoping this would still get them to the same ending, even if the beginning had been messed up. He kept me close, the same way he always had. I was still waiting for you. But Wormmon…" She shuddered. "He tried to delete Wormmon completely."

Kari shuddered in response, and something else occurred to her. "Gatomon… Do you think something _happened_ to Wormmon's partner? I mean, Gennai seemed to know that I would still make the journey someday. What if the ninth Digidestined _couldn't_?"

Gatomon considered this. "I don't know. But Gennai was convinced that Wormmon wouldn't be needed anymore. Luckily, Ryo appeared before the process could be completed. He took the remaining crests and Digivices and set us both free."

"So Ryo _saved_ you?" The longer this story went on, the more confusing it got. "Just what _is_ Ryo? You say he was supposed to be the Digidestined leader, but TK said they barely saw him after they got to your world. And then he _killed_ Leomon, who was trying to help them."

"Ryo is more complicated," Gatomon hedged, as if Kari hadn't figured out that much by now. "He can adapt where Gennai couldn't. Gennai created Leomon to sort of… reshape the story, tell the other Digidestined that there were only ever eight of them and that everything was going according to plan… except it wasn't. And I guess Ryo was trying to fix that. Interfering with Gennai's interferences."

"And ignoring his own responsibilities to his team in the process…"

"Maybe…" Gatomon eyed the hand still clutching the pink Digivice. "Maybe not. Where did you get this? Ryo took it with him the day he set us free."

Kari looked down at her Digivice as if she'd forgotten it was there. "TK had it."

"Really? Maybe he left it somewhere he knew it would fall into TK's hands… Or with someone he trusted not to tell TK. But I don't know why he'd do that. If he'd given it to him directly, I bet TK wouldn't believe Ryo was this evil being."

Kari wished she was so sure. Maybe TK was just more comfortable believing this simpler, black and white view of Ryo being evil in the midst of all this craziness. Or maybe he just hadn't wanted to tell her, for reasons she couldn't begin to fathom. She didn't know. She really did want to trust TK, but he had too many secrets.

"So what happened next?" she asked instead, shelving those thoughts as well. "What did you do after Ryo set you free?"

Gatomon grew solemn again. "I learned how to survive on my own. He took Wormmon with him somewhere, so I tried to follow after them in the beginning, but I lost the trail. Eventually, I Digivolved to the form I am today. I tried to find the others, but other Digimon kept coming after me. At first, I thought Gennai had sent them. That maybe I'd outlived my usefulness too. But these Digimon were… different."

"Different how?" Kari asked, eyes wide.

"They were being controlled. By dark gears at first—nasty little things that had to be embedded in their very flesh." Gatomon flicked her tail in distaste. "It was barbaric."

"And you don't think it was Gennai's work?"

She shook her head. "Gennai could have reconfigured their data to make them loyal. Or created a new creature solely for the purpose of tracking me down. This is more like mind control. Once the gear was destroyed, the Digimon was freed. He uses dark rings now—collars that are a little harder to destroy. It's just as barbaric, if you ask me."

"He?" Kari's head was swimming.

"The Digimon Emperor. Somehow, another human found his way to the Digital World and started taking over."

" _Another_ human? How… How is that possible? How could he get there without a Digivice or a partner or… I don't know, _some_ previous connection to the world?"

"I wish I could tell you. I really don't know much more. I just assumed he got through the same way I did—through a weakness in the worlds' barriers. He would have had to cross the Dark Ocean." Gatomon shuddered again. "But maybe such an awful place is nothing to someone like that."

"But still…" Kari said thoughtfully. "You had me on this side of things. TK told me your Digimon partner is what links you to the Digital World, so it probably works in reverse too, right?"

Gatomon nodded emphatically. "When I was in the Dark Ocean, I could _sense_ you on the other side. Sometimes it was stronger than others… Sometimes it was like you were right there with me, but I couldn't quite see you. And then your presence would fade again… But your light gave me strength and showed me the way out. I tried to find you when I got here, but this world is so crowded and big. And then that girl found me first."

Kari remembered suddenly her trial runs in the Dark Ocean as she'd come to consider them. The way Gatomon described her presence fading in and out… Had that been her unconscious response to her partner's calls? But she would have to further ponder this later, as Gatomon reminded her of something else. Kari had almost forgotten about the girl from the night before. Her list of questions was almost too long to keep track of these days. And right now, there was something more pressing on her mind. "Gatomon… you never saw the other Digidestined?"

The cat shook her head. "No. But now that we're together, we can go back and find them—and finally bring down this so-called Digimon Emperor!"

Kari tightened her grip at the vehemence in her partner's voice, and the Digimon looked up at her quizzically, seeing conflict in Kari's eyes.

"I know," she said softly. "Gatomon… My brother was one of the seven who made the journey four years ago. I'd do just about anything to see him again and now he's all right… And I know we have a responsibility to the Digital World. We _have_ to go back. But…"

"But what?" Gatomon asked, and Kari was encouraged by this. There was no judgment in her voice, only trust.

"But if we go back now, are we really in any better position to help?" Once again, her mind was with TK, who had not had nearly as many answers as she'd hoped. Who'd put so much faith in her, when she'd had no idea what to do. "There's still so much we don't know…"

"So what do you want to do? I've spent my whole life waiting to meet you; I'll be by your side no matter what you want to do next."

Kari's voice was a little stronger when she answered. "I want to go back to that neighborhood where we met last night. I'm starting to think this 'legend' is a lot more flexible than anyone thought. That girl that attacked you had a Digivice and a Digimon partner, but she'd never been to the Digital World and isn't the last Digidestined. Which we know is true because _Wormmon_ is supposed to be the ninth Digidestined's partner. She might know more than we do. Or, at least have the pieces to this equation that will make _our_ pieces make sense. Maybe she'll be able to tell us more about the Digimon Emperor. If we can find out who he is and how he rose to power, we'll be in a better position to take him down."

Kari trailed off a bit at the end, hoping that sounded convincing enough—that she was someone who was used to handling situations like this. And, while she was sure Gatomon saw right through her, her partner's faith didn't waver for a second. There was nothing but determination in the cat's eyes. "Let's do this."

 **…**

Davis had always found the tranquility of the Hida household to be a little… unsettling. It was the polar opposite of everything _he_ associated with home. It wasn't hard to see how Cody had grown up to be so solemn.

His mother had let Davis in with her soft smile and polite questions. Once she'd been assured that his family was well, he'd made his way to Cody's room, passing what he thought was the younger boy's grandfather meditating along the way. Seriously. This was the most put-together, calm household he'd ever been in. Until he reached Cody's room anyway.

Davis was never one for caution. But what he came across at the end of his journey made him pause. Cody's door had been left ajar, and angry muttering could be heard from within. When Davis peeked inside, Cody's usually impeccably neat, short hair looked like he'd run his hands through it multiple times. He was seated in front of his laptop, looking frustrated, his face just a little too close to the screen, scrolling furiously through something.

"…Cody?" he ventured at last, stepping into the room and taking care to shut the door firmly behind him. If whatever was going on was enough to make _Cody_ lose his cool, Davis got the feeling he didn't want to try to explain it to Cody's family.

He was expecting the younger boy to jump or yell out or have some sort of violent, surprised reaction. But Cody was so preoccupied that he only looked up for a second with a hurried, "Oh, hi, Davis," as if they'd had actual plans or Davis unexpectedly showed up in his room on a regular basis.

Davis decided to just go with it. "What's going on?"

"It's gone!" Cody exclaimed, sounding like he was on the edge of despair.

"What's gone?"

Cody finally seemed to give up. His fingers stilled on the keyboard, and he leaned back in his seat. Davis took a seat on his bed, and Cody turned to him, a tired intensity remaining in his eyes. "Yesterday, I found a short clip on a video game designer's website, and now it's gone."

Davis let out a deep breath and laughed, starting to relax. "Is that all? All this crazy stuff is going on and you're getting worked up over a video game?"

But Cody had not relaxed even a little. "Davis, it's the same thing. This clip was exactly what Kari described seeing at the bridge that night, _and now it's gone_."

Davis straightened back up. "What? Are you sure?!"

Cody looked exasperated. "Of course I'm sure! You think I would be this 'worked up' if I wasn't sure?"

"Well, what happened to it?!"

"I have no idea. I swear, I bookmarked the page, but it's just gone. There isn't even an error code or anything where the file _used_ to be. And I searched the website top to bottom. It's like it _never_ existed, but I know what I saw!"

"Well, did you looking up the game designer? Maybe we can get in contact with him directly."

Cody stared at his friend blankly for a moment before whirling back around in his seat, attacking the keyboard with new purpose, unable to believe he'd allowed himself to fall into such a one-track rut. And in the end, Janyu Wong's personal information was almost laughably easy to track down.

Cody sat back again, staring at the screen almost reverently. "Unbelievable. He's a local. Davis, you're a genius!"

Davis jumped to his feet, knowing full well how hard it would be to get those words to come out of Cody's mouth again, eyes sparkling the way they always did when he was on the verge of an adventure. "Well, then what are we waiting for?"

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Like I said, I feel bad having so many chapters that feel like just pure information dumps… But I also know I can't jump into the action before the characters know these things. I hope it hasn't seemed too tedious to you as readers.**


	16. Connections

**Thank you all for waiting! Maybe it doesn't seem like such a dramatic delay on your end of things, (I hope not anyway) but I really did intend to have this up sooner. I was away from home and my regular schedule animal-sitting last week, though, so my friend's parents could go up to watch her graduation. And their chickens get up at, like, 5 AM… Let's just say that without the extra hours spent staying up late into the night, I was a little short on free time. But my school semester has ended for the summer and I'm hoping updates will be a little more timely from here on out.**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter fifteen:** dnofsunshine, Katsa Graceling **(and thank you so much, by the way, for taking the time to review despite the language barrier! I sent your review through a translator, and it may not have been exact, but I got the gist!)** Berry Doyle, Bdc, **and** Sweet Cari!

 **Chapter Sixteen: Connections**

Not an hour later, Kari found herself slowly retracing her steps from the night before, Gatomon tucked into a backpack. Only her head poked out, and Kari had hope that, so long as she didn't move too much, any passersby they encountered would assume she was a plush toy or part of the backpack itself. And, after just a few complaints about how warm the day was, Gatomon seemed content to take in their surroundings.

"You really weren't that far from where you were trying to be," Kari commented, breaking the day's silence. "I wonder how the gates in the Dark Ocean work… It would be nice to be able to predict what exactly we'll be walking into when we go back."

She was proud of her casual tone. The thought of actually making the journey again made her insides do a little flip. But Gatomon just responded with a wry little scoff. "I don't think anyone's ever willingly spent enough time in the Dark Ocean to study it as a form of transportation."

"TK maybe…" she murmured.

Gatomon hummed. "Yeah, maybe… But if his partner stays on the other side like you said, he wouldn't really have that problem. When he makes the journey, he'll appear wherever Patamon is."

They lapsed into contemplative silence. Kari wondered what this world seemed like to Gatomon. Uncivilized and barbaric like she'd viewed the Digital World? Certainly not the safe haven Kari had felt upon her return. Her thoughts had moved to brainstorming how she was going to keep Gatomon hidden from her parents by the time they reached the parking lot. It looked terribly ordinary in the daylight. Kari stood in the entrance for a moment, but it was clear there was nothing to see.

"What now?" Gatomon asked.

Kari began slowly walking away, absentmindedly chewing on her bottom lip. What next? Good question.

"We can't exactly start going door to door," she mused. Not only would it attract a lot of attention, she doubted it would get them anywhere. This neighborhood looked like one of the poorer districts—just a little run-down. Though their encounter the night before had been brief, Rika had definitely struck her as someone who was well-off. Put together, confident. Whatever she was doing here last night, Kari doubted she spent much time in these parts.

Gatomon shifted a little in her pack, and Kari sighed. She moved aside to let a young boy chasing a ball rush past her and was struck by another thought. The girl had certainly been aggressive enough to be an athlete… Maybe some of the kids around here would recognize her from a rival school.

She stopped in the bakery she'd seen the night before and grabbed a few buns to split with Gatomon for lunch. The bakery was a family-run, cozy little place. The sort of business she used to dream about when her parents were both away at their cold office jobs. The owners were friendly, if a little overworked. She would have stayed a little longer, soaking in the atmosphere, if it hadn't been the lunch rush.

So she made her exit and started walking away… But stopped when there was a loud clatter in the alley behind the bakery. She watched a boy about her age trip down the steps of the bakery's back door, sending towers of boxes toppling over. Kari and the boy cringed in unison at the mess that had been made. Muttering something under his breath, the boy hurriedly placed the box he'd been carrying on the step behind him and turned to try and straighten up the alleyway a bit. Kari remained rooted to the spot for just a second before rushing forward to help him.

He emitted a squeaky little "oh!" when her hands joined his, but smiled in response to the one she sent his way and let her help him. "Thank you! I'm kinda a klutz sometimes." His voice trailed off and he laughed nervously.

Kari did her best to look friendly and approachable, keeping Gatomon shielded behind her back all the while. "I don't mind. Are the bakers your parents?"

"Yeah. Oh, um, I'm Takato." He paused to offer his hand. The gesture looked odd on him. Like a child trying to imitate a more confident adult.

But she took his hand. "My name's Kari. Do you go to school around here?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

He still looked nervous. Kari tried not to linger on the way he glanced over his shoulder further back into the alley behind him. "I'm trying to find a girl I met just down the road from here. But I don't live in this town so I don't really know where to start. I was hoping you could help me?"

"Oh, uh—"

"Takato! What are you doing out there?" his mother called from inside, cutting him off. A second later, the back door flew open again and Mrs. Matsuki stuck her head out into the alley. But she stopped when she caught sight of Kari. "Oh! I didn't realize we had a guest." Her voice immediately took on that happy homemaker mom voice, but the look in her eyes remained. The look that said, _And you thought in the middle of the lunch rush was a good time to have someone over?_

"Yeah, uh, Mom, this is my friend Kari."

"Oh," she said, seeming a little taken aback. "Your friend?"

" _Mom_ ," Takato groaned at her unintentional slight, but Kari had to suppress a giggle. Takato seemed… sweet. A little shy and nerdy, but sweet. Still, she doubted he had many girls over, if any.

"Right, well, don't stay out here too long."

Mrs. Matsuki retreated inside and her son turned back around, his face overtaken by a fierce blush. "S-sorry about that. My mom is… uh, well, anyway, you… you said you're trying to find a girl?" he stammered out.

"Yes," she began, but they were interrupted again.

"Takatomon? What's taking you so long?" came a voice from deeper behind them in the alley.

Takato jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around, but it was already too late. Kari watched, with a distant sort of surprise—was it possible she was getting used to this sort of thing?—when a red dinosaur-type thing almost as big as Takato himself wandered up to them, sniffing around curiously. A Digimon, for sure. This boy that she'd just happened across was hiding a Digimon.

Takato looked panicked, glancing back and forth between them. Kari knew her mouth had fallen open and Gatomon was straining to see around her back. By the time she composed herself a little, the Digimon had stopped nosing through the box Takato had brought out with him and come over to investigate. "Who's she, Takatomon? Another friend?"

Gatomon seemed to sense or smell something, and a second later, she had worked herself out of Kari's backpack and come to stand protectively in front of her partner. Kari tensed immediately, afraid she was about to repeat the encounter she had with the other 'tame' Digimon the night before. But Takato's partner didn't seem to sense the imminent danger Gatomon presented. He simply looked curious. And strangely… innocent. A good fit for Takato, from what she'd seen of him. She could only hope Gatomon—with all her fierceness and claws—seemed so perfectly suited to her in some way as well. But her partner's hiss when the red dinosaur continued to come closer jolted her back to the present.

Takato seemed blinded to Gatomon's aggression too—star struck. "Oh, wow… Another Digimon…"

On impulse, Kari reached down and scooped up Gatomon into her arms, trying to regain some control over the situation. "Well, this… changes things a little. In a good way," she hurried to add. "This is what I was really asking you about, actually. The girl I met last night had a Digimon with her too."

Takato had moved awkwardly to his partner's side. Trying to shield him from anyone walking by on the street, maybe. His partner was a lot bigger than hers, after all. But his eyes lit up with a clarity at her words.

"Oh," he said softly. "You must be looking for Rika."

 **…**

Yolei pressed herself up against the wall in the next room, straining to hear the conversation between ShogunGekomon and the Emperor. On her ridiculously plush bed, Hawkmon sat propped up against the pillows, yawning, watching her through lidded eyes. She'd come to understand most of his expressions. She also knew he thought she could be a little dramatic sometimes, such as her eavesdropping now when she was sure to be filled in later.

But she just couldn't stop herself. As promised, Mimi had headed out the night before. Yolei would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about being in charge of this big castle and all its power on her own. She was grateful this step had been handled for her. Even after all she'd been through, Mimi still carried herself with a strength and confidence that Yolei could only imagine possessing herself. But she supposed she'd have to learn.

She heard ShogunGekomon's booming voice cut off and knew the call had ended. They were free from the Emperor's prying eyes… for now. Hawkmon sighed again on the bed behind her, and Yolei reminded herself to breathe. She sent a little smile Hawkmon's way. She wasn't so alone after all. With a little luck, Mimi would find the other Digidestined, and they'd all be home before the Emperor wanted to check in again.

She could hope so, anyway.

 **…**

"This should be it," Cody said, looking up at the apartment building in front of him.

"Great," said Davis, trusting his friend's ability to read a map without question. "Let's go then."

"And what, just start knocking on doors?" Cody asked, a little frazzled. "It's not like his bio gave out his address. We're lucky we got the street and the building."

"It also said he had kids, right? We'll just say we're looking for them. Someone's gotta know the family."

Once again, Davis had hit him with an idea that wasn't half bad. Cody had to envy his impulsiveness sometimes. He knew he tended to over prepare, personally, and as much as he would stick by that philosophy—that it was better to be safe than sorry—he was sure there had been opportunities that had passed him by because of it. So he grit his teeth, looked his friend straight in the eye, and nodded. "Okay."

So Davis grinned and did what he did best—led the way.

And pretty soon, Cody had never been more grateful for Davis's pigheadedness. They were out of luck with the first four floors, but on floor five, they finally got lucky.

"Hurry back, Henwy!" a shrill little girl's voice called at the other end of the hall. "It's almost time fow tea!"

"Yeah, I'll be right back, Suzie," another voice answered, much older and more than a little exasperated. "I'm just going down to get the mail."

Sure enough, they saw a dark-haired boy about their age easing a door to one of the apartments shut behind him, massaging the bridge of his nose with his other hand. He looked beyond tired, like getting the mail was just a convenient excuse to get out of the apartment for a few minutes. But if Cody found this a little off-putting, Davis just saw their lucky break.

"Hey, kid!" he called, quickening his steps, Cody hurrying to keep up with him.

The boy startled at his call and finally noticed them. "Oh. Uh, hi. Can I help you with something?"

Cody opened his mouth to smooth things over, but Davis ploughed ahead. "Yeah, we're looking for Janyu Wong. Do you know him?"

The boy looked surprised. "Yeah. Janyu Wong is my dad. He's at work right now. Why are you looking for him?"

Cody quickly grabbed Davis's arm. They had to approach this carefully. If the son thought they were a pair of lunatics, they might not even get to see the father. But the door to his apartment flew open again, and Cody found himself unable to form words.

At first he mistook the little figure in the pink dress that came jetting out into the hallway as the younger sister this boy must have been calling to before. Logic at work. But then he realized just how small the figure was… And saw the two appendages—ears?—just about as big as the creature itself on either side of its head. Appendages that it used to propel itself up onto the boy's shoulders.

"I can't take it anymore!" it cried indignantly, shaking off the two pink bows attached to its head. "If I have to play 'Princess' for five more minutes—"

"Terriermon!" the boy cried, eyes wide, clamping a hand over the thing's mouth. But the damage had already been done.

Cody and Davis had both frozen, but it was no surprise when Davis recovered first. "Whoa! That's a Digimon, right?!" At the same time Cody whispered, "They _are_ real…" And the boy's hand slackened a little in surprise, allowing Terriermon to wiggle away and free his mouth, only to take a deep breath and mutter, "Oops…"

But this boy was quick to recover too. "Wait a minute, how do _you two_ know what a Digimon is?"

"It's kind of a long story…" Cody began. "But we think the incident that took place in Highton View Terrace four years ago had to do with Digimon… not terrorists. And now one of our friends has disappeared, and we think your dad's research could help us find her."

The boy with the Digimon didn't linger on the gaps in his explanation—the pieces that would have made this conclusion make sense. After all, he knew just as well, things were… complicated these days. He just nodded. "Yeah, we should probably continue this inside." He turned back to the door and seemed to remember something. "Oh, and it's nice to meet you both. My name is Henry."

 **…**

Kari and Takato had retreated a little deeper into the alley. Behind the piles of boxes, Takato had fashioned a doghouse of sorts out of the bigger boxes for the red dinosaur-like Digimon who she learned was named Guilmon. And who had seemed to lose interest in them completely in favor of the box of old bread Takato had brought out for him. (Kari was already grateful her own partner was so much smaller.)

"So…" Takato started, sounding almost like he dreaded the answer. "You know Rika?"

"Not really," said Kari. "I only met her for the first time last night… when she attacked us."

Takato seemed to relax just the slightest bit. "Yeah. I don't know her that well, either. And when I do see her, it's usually because she's attacking us too… I don't think she believes I'm a real Tamer…"

"Tamer?" she questioned. "I take it that's different than Digidestined?"

"Yeah… Yours sounds a lot cooler, honestly. Like… magic or something." She'd tried to explain the legend surrounding the original eight—what she understood of it, anyway—to him. Takato had seemed nothing short of enthralled, and maybe a little more intimidated by her than usual, afterwards. "I think the Tamers are a little less… organized. One day this device just… showed up in my room. And it gave me the ability to bond with a Digimon… I found Guilmon a few days later, at the end of some weird portal thing. And now we're partners."

He looked to Guilmon, as if for confirmation, but the red Digimon still did not appear to be paying attention. He had finished the box and turned it upside down, as if hoping a piece he'd missed would magically appear and fall out. They certainly seemed a little less put together than her own partnership. She could see why he might be in awe of a pairing that was 'destined.'

"So Tamers… What do you and Rika do?"

"Well, when I first got my… Digivice—" she had given him that word and could tell he was still getting used to it, "there was this message running across it… About how there were weak spots between the Digital World and our world. How kids like me were needed to protect that barrier. I guess Rika's a little better about the whole protecting business…"

He trailed off self-consciously, something Kari had come to learn was a little typical of him. But something else had stolen her attention from keeping track of his mannerisms. "Wait, are there just Digimon roaming the streets?! Is that what you're saying? How come no one has seen them?"

"B-Because Rika's really good at her job, I guess," he stammered, startled by her sudden intensity. "Better at it then me. I wasn't really looking for a… partner. Just a friend, I guess. But… I understand the responsibility and… I'm gonna work on that. Being a… fighter. A _protector_ ," he rushed to correct. But his words felt oddly stilted. Like he was trying to justify himself to an authority figure. But, like everything else about Takato, it was sweet, in a way. She had a hard time picturing Takato Matsuki as anyone's savior, though. And was kind of glad his role in the 'fight' would be contained to this side of things, where he could avoid the danger if need be.

"So you've actually _been_ to the Digital World?" he asked next, his eyes shining.

"Yeah, briefly." She shifted a little on the box she was sitting on, and Gatomon shifted in turn. Her stance wasn't _defensive_ , per se… She seemed to have at last acknowledged that Guilmon wasn't a threat. But she had still chosen not to relax on Kari's lap. She had more… mobility this way. Kari couldn't help taking note of her mindset, wondering if she needed to start adjusting her own.

"But you're trying to find a way back, right?"

"Sooner or later, yes. I'm not sure how reliable the Dark Ocean is. We still don't totally understand it."

"Well… there is one other Tamer I know… My friend Henry. His dad kind of invented Digimon, so he might be able to help."

Kari blinked. " _Invented_?"

"Yeah, it's… Kind of a long story. Henry explains it a lot better than I do. Come on."

He stood up and, with one last guilty look at the door leading back into the bakery, headed out of the alley.

 **…**

"So what now, Mimi?"

The girl's sigh turned into a yawn halfway through. They'd spent the night walking across fields and through forests, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible. She was holding fast to her newfound determination. She kept flashing back to Yolei. How young the other girl seemed. How much she reminded Mimi of herself. She needed to be a leader. For Yolei. For all her other friends, now that they seemed unable to lead themselves.

But this didn't change the fact that her past few years spent occupying ShogunGekomon's castle hadn't exactly prepared her for a life of leadership. So she would have to go with what she knew. Well, maybe not Tai's recklessness. And she didn't quite have the mind for Izzy's analytical skills. But a good dose of careful logic couldn't hurt. What would Joe do?

"Let's go back to where it all started," she said. "We'll retrace our steps from the beginning. And take a different path this time. All the paths, if we have to. We're going to find the others."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **At last, the pieces are coming together. You know what's funny to me? I grew up with Digimon, and it was one of those shows that localized some things… Mostly, they just changed a few of the characters names. They were really faithful to the original characters… The changed English names could have been, like, nicknames. Or you know, the craziness of changing 'Jou' to 'Joe'. But it is something I try to keep track of—I noticed that some of you do prefer to use their Japanese names. But like with Joe/Jou, some of it is just… utter silliness. Did you know in the English dub, they changed Takato's last name? Someone explain to me how 'Matsuki' is any less Japanese than 'Matsuda'? XD Maybe I've been awake too long… I just wanted to share that all with you.**


	17. Allies

**I don't know about you all, but this month just flew by for me…**

 **Thank you for reviewing the last chapter:** Undesirable13, Lord Jaric, Berry Doyle, Sweet Cari, dnofsunshine, **and** Guest **! I'm glad you all seemed to feel that the Tamers were being blended into the story in a way that felt organic. I haven't read a lot of stories that try to mix the seasons, so it was nice to hear positive feedback on my own.**

 **Chapter Seventeen: Allies**

The Wong family lived in one of the nicer buildings in the neighborhood, but the apartment itself was… cluttered. Davis, totally unabashed, peered around curiously, but Cody tried to be a little more subtle. There were all the markings of a little girl—colorful toys and costume dresses thrown over every available surface—the younger sister Henry must have been escaping from. But Henry himself… They'd only just met the boy, but Cody got the distinct feeling he would fit more comfortably into the Hida household—where nothing was ever out of place. So the other things taking up space in their living area—open books, a few stray paintbrushes—likely belonged to other siblings.

This theory was proven almost immediately when Henry ducked into the next room where an older girl was lounging at the kitchen table, cell phone held up in front of her face. "Jaarin, could you watch Suzi for a little while? A few friends came over for help with our summer projects."

The girl looked up and spied the two of them standing in the doorway. She looked clearly displeased by Henry's request, and Cody could only hope she didn't hear Davis's mutter about "Sisters…"

" _What_? But it's your day to babysit. And now you're trying to hand her off so you can go hang out with your friends? So much for being the responsible one…"

Henry ignored the jibe with an easy grace and repeated patiently, "It's for homework. It won't be all day, I promise. We just need to go over a few things."

She huffed out a sigh. "Fine. Whatever. Maybe Rinchei has nothing better to do than play tea party…"

"Thanks, Jaarin…" he said, making his retreat before she could change her mind. He led Davis and Cody quickly down the hall. "Sorry about that. Suzi was a… surprise. Because the three of us are so much older, our parents took one look and saw countless hours of free labor. Speaking of…"

Terriermon had remained latched around his shoulders since they'd gone inside. Now Henry lifted him off. "I've got a mission for you."

His partner clued into his meaning immediately and jumped back, suspicious. "Oh no you don't…"

"No one entertains Suzi as well as you do. You know how much she loves Princess Terriermon," Henry wheedled.

"Do I ever," he grumbled. But Henry's partner could tell how important this meeting was, that it shouldn't be interrupted. So the boys watched as the Digimon walked resolutely out the door, took a few steps down the hall, and flopped dramatically onto his back. Terriermon proceeded to stare blankly up at the ceiling, looking every bit the stuffed animal. It was only a matter of time before Suzi would come along, never questioning for a second how he'd ended up there.

But it was only as second later that Henry's older sister was back, standing in his doorway with a disapproving frown. At the end of the hall, they just caught a glimpse of a little girl rushing past, being chased after by who could only be Henry's older brother. "Is this a study session or a party? More of your friends are here."

She stalked off to follow her siblings and the trio finally caught sight of the two behind her back. One was a meek-looking boy with a timid smile. And the other…

"Kari!" Davis exclaimed, rushing out of his seat so quickly Cody had to catch the chair before it hit the ground. The new boy leapt out of the way with wide eyes as he charged into the hallway, stopping just short of bowling her over. "You're okay!"

"Davis! Cody!" she exclaimed right back. "What are you two doing here? And why wouldn't I be okay?"

Davis gaped and Kari herself seemed to pause for a moment. Long enough for Cody to ask, "Well, then where _have_ you been all this time?"

But Davis recovered at the same time. "Do you have any idea what Yolei and I have been doing the past few days?! Trying to track you down! We even went to go see TK's dad! So is it true? Did you really find a way to the Digital World?!" Davis's anger was as short-lived as his train of thought, quickly replaced by excitement.

"Wait, you've _been_ to the Digital World?" Henry interjected behind them. He was the only one to remain seated, and Kari finally turned her attention to him.

"You must be Henry," she said, still managing to be polite amidst the sudden chaos. "I'm Kari. It's nice to meet you. And, um, yes. I have."

She glanced over her shoulder, making them all immediately self-conscious. Without another word, the four crowded into the small room where Henry was seated, closing the door behind them. It appeared to be a personal study—his father's, most likely—just the slightest bit set apart from the rest of the apartment.

Takato, seemingly about to burst, said, "And that's not all! Henry, look!"

He pointed excitedly at Kari's backpack, and she took it off obligingly, allowing Gatomon to climb out. Henry gasped accordingly, and he wasn't the only one. Within seconds, the three boys were all openly gaping down at the Digimon. Gatomon looked around the circle of faces ever so warily, finally questioning, "These are your friends?"

"Yes. Davis, Cody, meet Gatomon. My Digimon partner. Takato says you have one too, Henry?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, recovering. "Terriermon. He's… distracting my sister right now. So I guess we're all allies now? Are you three Tamers too?"

"Not exactly," Kari answered.

But Davis's attention had been captured by something else. "Wait a minute, you have a Digimon too?!"

Takato brought a hand up to the back of his head. "Yeah. Guilmon. We had to leave him behind though. He's kind of big."

"Right," said Kari. "Can we all back up a minute? What are you two doing here? What's been going on the past two days? Yolei and I were trying to track down TK… She was supposed to cover for me with my parents if I was out late. But I ended up in the Digital World. I tried calling her when I got back, but her mom had no idea where she was, and _I_ ended up covering for _her_."

Henry leaned over to Takato and whispered, "Who's TK?" His friend shrugged, but no one paid them any mind. Davis had paled considerably. "She… She wasn't home?"

"No…"

"L-Look, when you disappeared, Yolei was freaking out. She called me, and we went to Odaiba to talk to TK's dad. But he hadn't seen you. After we left, she got mad at me and went off on her own. I thought she just needed to cool off. I was gonna call her when I had good news…"

Kari's eyes had widened. The other three were watching with rapt attention.

"Wait, so she's _missing_?" said Cody.

"Should we call the police?" suggested Takato nervously.

"If it's related to all this, I doubt they'd be able to help," said Henry. He turned back to Kari. "Could it be? How did you get to the Digital World? Could this other friend—Yolei?—have found her way there too?"

"I'm not sure. I still don't really understand the Dark Ocean myself. So I guess that makes anything possible." It was clear that they were all awaiting a better explanation. She sighed. "We should probably all sit down. This is going to take a while."

 **…**

Rika Nonaka was seriously considering tossing her Digivice into the pond behind her house. She huffed loudly, glaring. "What good is this thing anyway if it can't give me specifics?"

"Is there a problem, Rika?" It no longer surprised her when Renamon appeared so suddenly behind her. Her partner was always watching, from somewhere in the shadows. At first she would come forth only when called. But more and more often lately, Renamon was injecting herself into Rika's daily life, trying to help with more than just the eliminating. And less and less often lately did Rika find herself blowing off her partner's inquiries.

She held up her Digivice to show the display lit up on it. It was a grid of the city and surrounding towns. Interspersed throughout it were tiny white dots. "First those stupid boys, then that girl the other night… New Tamers are popping up everywhere. And these little _dots_ … How are we supposed to know which of these Digimon are _claimed_ and which are actual threats? I don't have time to go off on a bunch of wild goose chases."

Renamon continued to scrutinize the map. Rika let her observe in silence for a moment. She couldn't help but feel a sort of warm appreciation. Anyone else might have dismissed her complaints as mindless bitching. What can you do? But Renamon always took her seriously.

At last, she used a claw to point out a pair of dots clustered together. "You see these two? They've remained in the same place together this whole time. It's unlikely they're two wild Digimon; one would have destroyed the other and absorbed its data by now. So I think it's safe to ignore that area."

Rika appraised the sight again and nodded. "Probably those two idiots. Whatever. Even if they get the girl in on their little playdate too, they can't hold a candle to us. Renamon, let's get going."

In the time that it took for Rika to stand up, Renamon had disappeared back into the shadows, as was expected of her. But she had to wonder. Was Rika really so scornful towards the other Tamers forming a team? They were all working towards the same goal, after all. Renamon herself couldn't help a distinct feeling of longing…

 **…**

"Wow…" Henry murmured once her tale was complete. "So there really is a whole Digital World out there… I mean, Terriermon said so, but… he tends to exaggerate."

Cody eyed the older boy's fond, slightly bewildered smile and nodded. He had to agree. The time for lingering doubts had passed. All of his focus had to be on what came next, especially now that Yolei could be in danger.

Kari nodded too. "It is a little hard to believe. But what did Takato mean when he told me your dad _created_ Digimon? How is that possible?"

Davis and Cody both perked up at the question, and Henry swiveled around in his chair thoughtfully, moving to rest his arms on its back. "These days my dad is a game developer, but back when he was in college, his studies were primarily focused on AI."

Davis looked at Cody quizzically, who explained without having to be asked, "Artificial intelligence. Basically, they're computers that can think for themselves."

Henry nodded. "His last year, my dad and a bunch of his friends put together the _Digimon_ project. It stood for Digital Monsters, and they called themselves the Monster Makers. When all this started out, it was just a computer program. I'm not sure how it's become an actual world out there in some other dimension—I doubt my dad knows about this part—though I have a theory…"

"The AI," Cody supplied, and Henry nodded.

"Um… what about it?" Takato asked, speaking up for the first time. He'd spent this meeting with his eyes swinging back and forth between all the different speakers, and Kari got the impression he was a little amazed just to be a part of this group.

"One of the staples of artificial intelligence is its ability to continue to grow and develop on its own. If Henry's dad and his friends did succeed in developing a fully-functioning AI, the Digital World would have continued its progress even after they abandoned the project."

"But what does that mean—progress?" Kari asked.

Cody could only shrug. "That depends on what exactly they programmed the Digital World to _do_."

Henry huffed softly, annoyed at his own impatience. "I wish I could tell you. Whenever my dad would go off on his speeches about his college days… Well, we all kind of learned to tune him out after a while." He looked a little sheepish.

"Well, hey, they were all training to make video games, right?" Davis spoke up. "What was the Digital World supposed to be about?"

"Uh, what?" Henry looked at him blankly.

"The story," Davis pressed. "If someone was playing _Digimon_ like it was a game, what would the player have to do to win?"

Kari gasped. "The Digidestined! A tale of ten warriors saving the world from some great evil? Maybe it's a little generic, but it fits. I even thought it sounded a little like a video game or a movie when TK and Gatomon were explaining it to me."

This realization seemed to send a new buzz through the room. They all sat up a little straighter.

"So those kids who disappeared all those years ago," Takato began.

"The Digital World must have been developed enough to finally play out the story it was programmed to. But the Monster Makers would have designed the heroes to be human, so the AI found a way to breach the barrier between the worlds and _find_ itself some heroes," Henry finished.

"But something went wrong," said Kari thoughtfully. "So the AI would have tried to set the story back on track." Her eyes widened, and her gaze swung to meet Cody's. "You don't think…"

" _What_?" Davis interrupted, hating to be left out.

"Yolei…" Cody answered. "If we're right and she did end up in the Digital World, the AI must be trying to replace the heroes—to reset the story."

"And the Tamers…" Henry brainstormed. "Maybe we're here to take care of an unintended side effect. Wild Digimon escaping through the gateway the AI keeps opening."

"Well, that's great news!" Davis exclaimed. The others looked at him blankly, but there wasn't a trace of sarcasm in his voice. "This means the program is… how do you call it… flexible! We _can_ find a way there."

Something about Davis's simple optimism lifted a weight from Kari's shoulders. Once again, before she'd even realized it was happening, the boundaries of her team had shifted again. She glanced around at the two boys who'd been with her all along, and the two she was just starting to become acquainted with. She thought of Yolei and her nervous but steady loyalty. And, finally, she looked down at her new partner, and the confidence in Gatomon's eyes told her all she needed to know. They could do this.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **The next chapter should be another big one.**


	18. Knowledge

**I swear this chapter** _ **was**_ **going to be on time. It would have been, if not for this last week, where I've been picking up shifts at work like crazy because there have been so many call-outs.**

 **We have come up on the second of the big chapters… And I had a moment when I it sunk in that we're already on chapter eighteen. The plan is for the story to move along a little faster now. Yolei just had her defining moment a bit early. (In fact, while planning this story, I don't think I realized just how much I would have left to set up once she was in place in the Digiworld.)**

 **Thank you for reviewing the last chapter:** Lord Jaric, Fruitloop Trooper, Guest, Sweet Cari, dnofsunshine, **and** Berry Doyle, **who I saved for last, because I really liked your review! I'm glad you've been enjoying Davis's role in this story so far, but because I've surprised myself with how much I've enjoyed writing them. Davis was never one of my favorite characters, but he did have his strengths, and I think I've started appreciating him more since I've been writing this story.**

 **Chapter Eighteen: Knowledge**

As he walked home, Cody's mind was swimming. Henry's older siblings had finally lost patience with their favor, and the group had gone their separate ways for the afternoon, agreeing to make plans to regroup sometime soon. And he had no doubts about any of the others' commitment, even the two he'd just met. But did they really have the time to spare to put off the next stage of their planning? Even for just a day or two?

They knew so little about the Digital World… Its origins were one thing; how were they supposed to navigate and survive inside this world if they did make it that far? How was Yolei holding up _now_ , without them? Kari had been in the world for such a short time, had seen so little first-hand, and had had TK to guide her through that whole experience. (Speaking of, he still viewed TK as a bit of a wild card, possibly having his own agenda.) He felt almost like he was back at the start—with each new answer arriving with a barrage of extra questions attached—and it was incredibly frustrating.

He must have looked as dejected as he felt when he stepped back into his house, carefully closing the door behind him, because his mom stopped en route to the kitchen.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked lightly in a tone that clued in Cody immediately to her worry. "You look… stressed."

He did his best to give her a tired smile. "I was out with Davis all day. He just… has too much energy for me sometimes."

"I see." His mother's expression relaxed a bit. "Well, dinner's just about done."

Cody felt his smile strain even further. "Um… I'm really not hungry."

Just as he'd feared, his mother's face fell again, his progress immediately erased. But his grandfather came up behind her before she could say anything else. "There's no reason you can't still join us while _we_ eat."

And this was the end of that, as he should have known it would be. Family dinners were sacrosanct in this house. All Cody wanted was to barricade himself in his room and pick up his brainstorming where his team had left off. But he followed them obediently into the sitting room, took his place at the table, and picked at the meal his mother had set out until the other two were finished. His mother sent more undisguised worried glances his way than he could count, but his grandfather was his usual serene self. His attempt at normalcy resonated as an act of trust, and Cody appreciated it greatly.

When he was finally able to retreat to his room, he closed the door behind him carefully but firmly. Time to get to work.

He booted up his laptop and found his way back to the website where the scene on the bridge from that night had once been playing on a loop. But it was just as empty as before. He considered trying to track down further information on Janyu Wong… but it felt wrong somehow now. He doubted Henry's dad was still involved in his old project. If he knew how far this mess had spiraled, he would surely also know his own son was caught up in it. But maybe some of the others…

Cody's focus shifted over to Janyu's old colleagues… the Monster Makers. He tracked down their old college, found the computer programming degree program… Without an account for the school, it was difficult to find his way into the student forums and old backlogged reports… But Cody channeled his patience, found the loopholes, just as Yolei had been teaching him to. And finally, _finally_ found what he was looking for.

Based on the single report catalogued for the project, it would look like the Digital World never got off the ground. It had never gotten an official, peer-reviewed report on their success. It had been a work in progress until the funding ran out. And then their notes had been gathered and summarized in the hopes that their peers might appreciate their efforts more than anyone with actual power and authority. They hadn't even used their real names, defaulting to their Monster Maker code names: Tao, Curly, Shibumi, Daisy, Dolphin, and Babel.

Cody sighed, seeing a long night ahead of him. But he thought of Yolei again and got to work.

It was a big job. Cody assumed 'Tao' was Janyu; based on his surname and appearance, he'd already assumed Henry was half-Chinese. Palo Alto was a diverse campus—he soon learned the Monster Makers had come together from all over the world. Through the alumni page he found a Rob McCoy, who'd gone on to be a professor at that same university and who cited his work with the professor who'd mentored him—who was known for his own work with dolphins—as something that had greatly inspired him. _Bingo_.

With a little flutter in his stomach, Cody soon realized how lucky he'd gotten. One breakthrough quickly led to another. It seemed Professor McCoy was something of a sentimentalist. He had a public blog where he spoke generously of his more recent projects with some "old friends," promoting their work as much as his own.

He'd worked with another professor from a university in India—further research turned up a picture of a woman with very curly hair in a lab coat (straightened for most official photos). Henry's dad was in one of the posts. There were two others—also listed as Palo Alto alumni—who could have been Babel and Daisy, leaving just Shibumi…

Based on his nickname, Cody would guess he was from here in Japan. He found it a little hard to believe he was the one Monster Maker Dolphin had just neglected to keep in touch with. But there was no sign of him anywhere on the university website. Had he maybe decided on some other path for his life after their project had lost its funding? Somehow, Cody didn't think so, but his evidence that he'd even found the other Monster Makers was already so flimsy.

He sighed again, resting his head on his arms atop his desk. He was so tired of feeling like he was floating around in some unquantifiable space of questions. He felt like an overworked detective, following one lead after another and still getting nowhere. What if he was wrong about all of it? What if they'd headed off the path in the wrong direction and hadn't even realized it?

When Cody opened his eyes again, trying to ground his flyaway thoughts, he figured he must have drifted off. Surely this was the only explanation for his intangible, murky thought world suddenly coming to life around him.

But the harder he tried to wake himself up, the more real his surroundings seemed. He could barely see more than a foot in front of him in the gloom, but he could _feel_ the dampness of air on his skin. He heard the splash of a shallow puddle under his feet when he took a tentative step forward. And the dread in the atmosphere, soaking into his very being, it seemed, was very, very real.

Cody took another step, and his breath caught in his throat as something occurred to him. Wasn't this kind of how Kari had described the Dark Ocean? A bottomless pit of a world that preyed on a person's negativity… and also a gateway to the Digital World.

All of Cody's instincts were screaming at him to turn back. He was not the type to rush blindly into things. Especially when those 'things' had the potential to be dangerous. He didn't have enough information. But he wasn't sure he _could_ turn back. The world behind him looked exactly like the one ahead. There was no obvious window of light leading back to his bedroom. He had no choice but to go forward.

Strangely enough, he soon found it rather simple to fend off that fear. This was a very curious world, and Cody wanted to take it all in and make sense of it. Maybe enforce some sort of order upon it.

But every time he started to think he could make something out in the gloom, it shifted, ever so slightly. The only consistent thing was the path unfurling in front of him. It was taking him somewhere; he only wished he knew where. Kari had been okay because she'd had something anchoring her to the other side. Was Cody doomed to wander in circles forever? Or would the Dark Ocean eventually plop him down in some _other_ world he had no knowledge of?

It was a daunting thought. And he was more than a little relieved when he spotted the crude wooden sign sticking up out of the gloom. It read _Curiosity Shop_ , and he supposed it did its job. His curiosity was immediately piqued. He headed for the sign, and the path obliged.

As he got closer, the frame of a building materialized as well, simple and a little crude, like the sign. Within a matter of seconds, he was at the door and didn't even bother to look back this time.

The Curiosity Shop was… a hallway of shelves, from what he could see. Had he found his way in through the back door perhaps? On the shelves were boxes and miscellaneous junk and lots and lots of dust. He was careful not to touch anything—whoever all this stuff belonged to could be very particular about how it was stored—but he made a curious decision not to call out and make his presence known too. He still had no idea what he was walking into… and he didn't plan on taking any more risks than absolutely necessary.

He made it all the way to the end of the row of shelves… only to see more rows of shelves than he could count spread out before him. Was the Curiosity Shop a warehouse of some sort? He tried not to let his heart fall too far.

Cody sighed and looked down to the shelf just inches from his left hand. A strange purple blob of some sort had been set down on this shelf. Cody had no idea what it was but thought it looked almost… alive. Yup, best not to mess with _that_ one… He was just about to move on when he spotted movement behind the blob.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, recoiling back to lean up against the wall of shelves behind him when another blob—this one bright pink with _eyes_ and a mouth and little arms—uncurled itself out from behind the purple blob and peered at him, looking tired and sad.

Cody was barely breathing as the little thing slowly took him in, finally seeming to wake up a little. "Oh… you're a human, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Cody croaked out, not ready to correct his posture just yet. "Um… what are _you_?"

"I am Motimon," it—he?—answered, still looking deflated. Cody began to relax ever so slightly as Motimon fell forward, draping himself over the purple blob and holding it close, like it was something precious.

"Um," Cody said again. He swallowed, trying to form a coherent sentence. "Are you… by any chance… a Digimon?" The Digimon nodded as best it could from his hunched over position, and Cody felt his stomach flutter for a different reason. "And that thing you have with you…?"

Tears filled Motimon's eyes, and Cody found himself taking a step closer without realizing it. "It's Izzy's curiosity. I have to keep it safe."

"For how long?" Izzy… Had he stumbled upon one of the original Digidestined's partners?

Motimon looked up at him, and Cody's heart twisted at how pitiful the Digimon looked. "Until he's ready to take it back, of course."

Had this been the thing to 'taint' Izzy? How did one even go about losing their curiosity? (Cody decided not to linger too much on this just now.) There was only forward, he reminded himself. He had found his mission.

"My name is Cody," he said belatedly. "What can I do to help?"

For the first time, Motimon seemed to perk up. "You would help us?"

"My friends and I, we're trying to help all of you." His voice was firm. "Just tell me what to do."

"I can't remember the last time I saw the others… After we defeated Devimon, we all got separated. Izzy was convinced TK had made it back to the human world, and he was determined to find his own way. So we went in search of what made the Digital World tic… And ended up here."

"I think you got pretty close," Cody told him. Izzy had taken exactly the approach he would have gone with. "I found this place through the Dark Ocean, which we think connects the two worlds. This 'Curiosity Shop' must be right on the fringe."

Motimon shuddered. "I've only ever heard rumors of the Dark Ocean. Terrible rumors… Izzy would be excited to find proof that it's real, though…" Cody almost thought he was going to lose him again when the Digimon refocused. "This Curiosity Shop is run by an awful scavenger named Vademon. He told Izzy there was a way out through his shop. But he made Izzy wager his curiosity if he couldn't find it in a given time."

Motimon didn't go on… but then, he didn't really need to. Cody thought the rest was pretty self-explanatory. "Well, we're starting at the end point… Do you know how to get back to where Izzy is?"

Motimon seemed to deflate again. "Vademon's keeping Izzy in the actual Curiosity Shop. We're on the outskirts. All these rooms are just storage. And the landscape is always changing… Vademon collects things—curiosity, knowledge, thought itself… Getting anywhere in this place is like solving a puzzle."

Cody found that his heart didn't sink at this news, as perhaps it was meant to. So this Vademon collected knowledge, huh? Cody liked to think of himself as a connoisseur of knowledge also. And he was up to solving any puzzle he'd constructed between them.

"Excellent," he said confidently, causing Motimon to blink up at him in surprise. "Where do we start?"

Motimon pointed slowly to his right. Past the rows of dusty shelves, he could just make out another crude wooden door. The little Digimon jumped down from the shelf to walk at Cody's side, Izzy's curiosity held tight to his chest. Cody briefly considered offering to hold the purple blob for the creature… but knew he'd be immediately refused.

The door led outside… sort of. All around them was the darkness he'd come to associate with the Dark Ocean, but the ground under his feet felt more solid, and there was grass growing as well as a river flowing by. For a minute, the utter nothingness of everything else confused him—what sort of puzzle was this? But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Water flows downhill. If they wanted to get to Vademon—the source of all this madness—they would have to climb to higher ground. Cody set their path heading against the current—up a hill that seemed to materialize in front of them—and Motimon followed faithfully.

In this fashion, their journey continued. Cody began to view it less like a puzzle and more like a treasure hunt. They plodded along, looking for clues that would lead them back to Vademon, and he couldn't help being a little impressed at how well Motimon kept up. Through rooms that resembled houses designed backwards and landscapes where the path could only be determined by tracking which plants made sense to be growing in that particular soil, the little Digimon never voiced a single complaint, even though his partner's curiosity blob was nearly as big as Motimon himself.

None of it was terribly complex, at first. Cody took the more advanced technology that started popping up as they went on as a sign that they were headed in the right direction. But still Motimon gave no indication that any of this looked familiar. Had Izzy not gotten this far? Just how big was Vademon's territory? It was the one thing he made a conscious choice _not_ to think about, lest that possibility intimidate him.

Their progress stalled when they came to a split path. On either side of them was a door, each open ajar, just enough to give them a glimpse of what lay beyond. To his left, Cody saw another warehouse-like area, much like the one they'd started out in. If he squinted, he thought he could make out a counter and shopfront beyond the shelves. And to his right…

Cody jerked back on reflex. In the room to his right was an endless galaxy… at least that's what it looked like. He couldn't even see a path to stand on; it dropped off into nothingness. It was obvious which path looked to bring them into the Curiosity Shop proper. And yet…

Cody felt an inexplicable tug towards the nothingness and confusion to his right. They were motionless long enough for Motimon to look up at him in concern.

"Izzy saw that place too, but he wouldn't go inside. We just kept going in circles around Vademon's labyrinth… until he told us we were out of time."

Cody met eyes with him and nodded. He'd never met Izzy but felt a definite connection to the older boy. Making his own journey through this 'labyrinth,' he could picture all too clearly what must have been going through his mind. But Izzy's logic had failed him somewhere. Was this the point where it had all gone wrong for him?

Suddenly, Cody missed his team—his _friends_. He could really use some extra guidance right about now, another perspective. What would Davis do if faced with this dilemma?

He couldn't stop the smile that flitted across his lips. Well, that was a no-brainer. Davis would tell him to trust his instincts. Never mind that right now they were pulling him in the direction of something he couldn't hope to possibly understand.

He tried to look confident—for Motimon's sake—as he strode forward. He pretended his hand wasn't trembling has he pushed the door open wide enough for them to step through. And he held his breath… until he realized there was still oxygen and he wasn't falling to his doom.

Still, the galaxy around him was making his head spin. He wanted to turn back… but was afraid that if he did he would find that the door behind them had disappeared. And there _was_ still something pulling him forward. He just had to be brave.

As they got further and further into the nothingness, Cody thought he could see a pinprick of light up ahead. It encouraged him forward and was right at his feet before he realized it. The final few steps had been like wading through sludge, and he was breathing hard. He nearly collapsed over the egg-shaped bundle of glowing data, hunching forward to wrap his arms around the thing, not unlike Motimon cradling Izzy's curiosity.

As soon as he came into contact with the thing, its glow strengthened, becoming too bright to look at head-on. But Cody could feel the data changing shape… until the flow faded altogether, and he was left blinking down at another creature. This one was much bigger than Motimon, with claws and pointy ears and a smooth, hard shell. In fact, it looked rather like an…

"Howdy. I'm Armadillomon. Nice to meet you, partner."

"Partner," Cody repeated slowly. Armadillomon was staring up at him with big green eyes, clear of any turmoil. The creature's accent was goofy, entirely out of place. And yet… he supposed in a world like this one, nothing had to make sense.

Something floated up between them then, and he jerked back a little. A small device like the one Kari had shown him, but yellow. A Digivice…

Cody brought a hand up to grab the Digivice out of the air. It shined brightly for a second—as if to acknowledge him—before fading back down. He swallowed, feeling as if something momentous had occurred, and said, "It's nice to meet you too. My name is Cody."

Motimon came forward with wide eyes. "A Digivice… That means you are also one of the Chosen Ones."

Armadillomon cocked his head to the side. "I don't know anything about 'Chosen…' I just know I'm meant to be with Cody."

Motimon nodded enthusiastically. "My partner Izzy is the Chosen warrior of Knowledge."

Cody pursed his lips thoughtfully. He hadn't told Motimon their working theory—that the Tamers and Yolei and now himself were meant to be replacements for the original Chosen Ones. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what this meant for Izzy, but perhaps this explained why he'd felt such an immediate connection to the older boy.

"That's nice," Armadillomon said simply, and if he had been even a little less laid-back, Cody might have assumed his tone was passive-aggressive. "Where _is_ your partner?"

Motimon's lower lip trembled ever so slightly, but Cody's new Digivice lit up again before he had to answer. A beam of light shot out, settling on a spot beyond them. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about that darkness as opposed to the area they were in now. But as the three watched, that tiny speck of light grew until they were blinking at another doorway.

The light was blinding; they couldn't see what lay beyond this doorway. But for some reason, Cody wasn't worried. He had gotten this far on blind faith. He had to trust his Digivice would take them where they needed to go. He took the first steps, the two Digimon close behind.

His first impression of the next stage of their journey was that it looked just like the first, if a bit smaller. But Motimon gasped in immediate recognition and dashed forward, and as Cody hurried after him, the dusty shelves soon gave way to an ordinary-looking storefront. What was perhaps not so ordinary was that it looked identical to the storefront he'd seen through the door to his left—the path they had chosen not to take. It seemed they had ended up where they'd wanted to go after all.

"Motimon!" he hissed, glancing around nervously, but the Digimon had already darted into a room alongside the front counter. Cody and Armadillomon followed more cautiously, hovering in the doorway.

Inside what must have been one of Vademon's private rooms, a boy with a shock of bright red hair lay on a simple cot, staring blindly up at the ceiling. Cody could see his lips moving to form a constant stream of inaudible words—was he reciting something?—but his expression was blank. Motimon jumped up without a second thought, placing the purple curiosity blob on his partner's forehead. When nothing happened, he pressed down on the blob, as if trying to force Izzy's curiosity back into him.

When this also seemed to have no effect, Cody took a step forward. As he drew closer, something began to glow from under the collar of Izzy's shirt. Motimon pulled out an older model Digivice from an inside pocket with wide eyes. Cody's yellow one began to glow in response and Izzy seemed to stir a little. The purple blob was slowly absorbed back into him… just as Cody heard a chilling voice behind him. "And what have we here?"

He turned to see a creature straight out of a horror film standing by the counter. The thing's head was one huge brain and the rest of its body a mass of tentacles. It held itself with a certain poise, but there was cruelty in its eyes. _This_ was Vademon? No wonder Motimon had gone to hide in the Curiosity warehouse rather than with Izzy himself.

Cody was already about to run and hide himself… when Vademon pulled out some sort of laser gun and pointed it at him. The weapon was almost comically cartoonish, but Cody didn't feel even the slightest urge to laugh.

A jolt of adrenaline shot through him as the laser in the point of the gun lit up. He dodged to the side, Armadillomon still at his heels, as the shot just missed him, shattering something on the wall behind him instead. He heard Vademon give a shout of frustration—just _barely_ , over the sound of his own heart pounding—but a different sort of light caught his eye as he looked back. Something behind the front counter had shot up into view, shining brightly.

Vademon was temporarily distracted also, and Cody used the seconds this bought him to reexamine his Digivice, which had grown warm in his hand. It, too, had begun to glow, and he watched with wide eyes as a virtual egg emerged from the tiny screen. It hung in the air before him just long enough for Cody to observe the little symbol on its side—which resembled a lopsided pair of glasses, with one circle dwarfing the other.

By the time Vademon turned back around, Armadillomon had begun to glow as well, and Cody could only stare. He watched as his new partner began to grow until he was twice his original size.

The creature that was left in his place resembled Armadillomon only slightly. Similar coloring maybe, but this one stood on two legs and had functional drills for a nose and hands. This Digimon quickly moved to shield Cody as Vademon took aim again. His drills whirred into motion, causing the next laser beam shot at them to dissipate into smoke. (Cody decided not to scrutinize the logic on that one too deeply.)

"Let's move," his supersized partner urged, and Cody didn't need any more encouragement. He scrambled to his feet and darted down the next aisle of shelves. He and his partner weaved around the store, knocking over things on display as they went. Quite a few blew up smoke or noxious gases behind them, providing a nice cover. But they couldn't run forever.

"Cody, do you have a plan? Vademon's tougher than he looks; I won't be able to defeat him in this form."

"Um…" Cody glanced around frantically, as if hoping for inspiration. And then… miraculously… something _did_ come to him. "Actually, yes."

Without another word, he headed back the way they'd come, knowing Vademon was still chasing them. He finally reached the door that had taken them out of that endless galaxy and darted behind a well-stocked shelf, carefully out of sight. Just as he'd hoped, Vademon came rushing into sight a second later, dashing through the open door in pursuit… or so he thought.

Cody leapt forward and slammed the door shut, shouting, "Quick, Armadillomon, destroy the door!"

There was one moment when he was gripped by panic. Would destroying the door cause the entire area to implode into a black hole? Had he just doomed them all? Or would their efforts just make a bigger opening, inviting Vademon back their way? In that second of panic, he swore he could almost feel something sucking him in…

But then his partner's drills made contact with the frame and the structure collapsed just as he'd hoped it would. What remained where the door had been was a pile of rubble… And Cody quickly plugged up the holes with other debris from around the shop. Perhaps it was a wasted effort. Maybe Vademon knew every inch of his labyrinth like the back of his hand and would have no trouble finding his way back. But Cody hoped this would at least stall him.

The two stood frozen, taking in their work, for a few seconds, the sudden silence ringing in their ears. At last, Cody's partner turned to look at him. "I'm Digmon now, by the way."

"Oh. Sorry." Cody remembered Kari briefly trying to explain Digivolution—something about an angel? He would have to question Digmon more thoroughly later. The silence had been broken. Without another word, the two turned and raced back to the room where Izzy had just been awakening.

When they got there, the older boy was sitting up, Motimon held tight to his chest. The little pink Digimon was crying hysterically. Izzy looked a little bewildered. He looked up when Cody and Digmon stopped in the doorway, not wanting to intrude.

Even in his frazzled state, Cody took the time to give a slight bow. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Cody Hida, and this is my partner Digmon."

"It's a pleasure," the boy on the bed answered, eagerly taking them in. Cody swore he could see his thoughts racing behind his eyes. "My name's Koushiro Izumi, but everyone calls me Izzy, even my parents."

His eyebrows furrowed then, as if he was trying to remember something. Cody supposed reabsorbing your curiosity was a bit of a process, though. He finally crossed the threshold, making his way to the bed. As he came closer, Izzy's crest and both Digivices began to shine again, though with a softer light this time. Simultaneously, both Digimon partners began to glow too. Cody watched with rapt attention as Digmon began to shrink and Motimon began to grow… When the process was done, Armadillomon was back and a beetle-like creature about the same size was left in Motimon's place.

"Oh, Izzy…" he said, finally making an attempt to wipe away the still-streaming tears. "I've missed you."

"Tentomon," Izzy replied fondly. "I'm ashamed to say I haven't been in much of a condition to miss anything… I let you down." Tentomon immediately tried to convince him otherwise, but Izzy just turned back to Cody. "That's twice now that your partner has reacted to my crest. Very curious… Though I suppose it's curious that you're here at all. I get the feeling you're not the eighth Digidestined we were looking for?"

"Not exactly…"

 **…**

TK heard Patamon's sharp intake of breath as they crested the hill and silently agreed. The sight below them was impressive… if a little daunting. A huge shadowy fortress resembling a pyramid rose up from the middle of it all, surrounded by laboratories and prisons that TK suspected were just as subject to the experiments that went on around here. The Digimon Emperor's stronghold…

"Well, it looks like we found it," Patamon said a little shakily.

TK smiled encouragingly. "I'd say so. Now we just have to find a way inside."

 **…**

Izzy listened to the whole story quietly. He'd looked distinctly unsettled when Cody told him how much time had passed, not that Cody could blame him. But, thankfully, at the end of this tale, he didn't seem too upset. Maybe a little resigned. And grateful for Cody's help.

He finally got up from the bed and walked silently out to the storefront. Cody followed and watched as he picked up the little square chip that had shot up from behind Vademon's counter during their struggle. Izzy handed it to him and Cody saw the same symbol that had been on the egg that had emerged from his Digivice. This must be Izzy's Crest of Knowledge, he realized now.

"Take it," Izzy said when he saw the realization cross his face. "It's yours now."

When Cody looked unsure, Izzy pushed ahead, "You earned it. You passed Vademon's test when I couldn't."

"But…" Cody protested. "I'm not even really sure _how_ I passed… Or that I understand what the test really was. I just did what felt right."

Izzy looked almost wistful, reflecting. "When we all got separated, I went looking for Vademon on purpose. I'd heard he was the most knowledgeable being in the Digiworld, that he was a collector of information. He sounded a little like me, to be honest. I was trying to learn everything I could about this world. I thought if I could figure out its code, I could get us all out.

"But then I foolishly accepted Vademon's challenge and got lost in his maze. I relied entirely on what I already knew; it never crossed my mind that my previous knowledge might not be enough. My whole life, people praised me for being something of a child prodigy. But I was just studying the discoveries that other people had made. I didn't have the courage to venture out into the unknown. Not like you."

Cody kind of wanted to protest further. But this did line up with his plans. Sort of. So he swallowed down his uncertainty and closed his fist over the crest. "Okay. But what are you going to do now?"

He seemed pretty confident from someone who'd been effectively braindead for the past three years. "I'm going to search for Gennai. If you and your friends are right—and I'm sure you are—he may be the closest thing to a courier between this world and ours. If he was supposed to be watching over us all this time, maybe he has a way to get back in touch with the others. If you'd like to come along, I'm sure I could use your help."

Cody considered this for a moment… but he already knew this wasn't his path. "I appreciate that. But I'm going to stay here. We're right on the edge of the Dark Ocean—the other way home. I'm going to study it and see if I can contact _my_ friends."

Izzy grinned. "I suppose we're working two sides of the same mission then. Thank you for everything, Cody. We'll have to compare notes when we meet again."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Aaaand it's done! Just a few more things I wanted to mention before I let you go… Well, one, it's about time we check back in with TK, even if it's only briefly. I think the only one who's gotten less screen time than TK is Wormmon and… well, I'll get back to him. Some other notes for this chapter: I'm pretty sure it's never actually stated which university the Monster Makers went to. Dolphin does go on to teach at Palo Alto, and it was just convenient for me to make that their alma mater too. And lastly, I know I mentioned that I tend to use their English names in a past chapter… I always thought the Adventure names were interesting, because they tried to keep them as faithful to their original names as possible. Izzy's is one of the ones that's pushing it a little, though, and I spent a good chunk of time deliberating how I wanted him to introduce himself… I eventually did wind up going with his 'real' name being Koushiro in this universe also. Anyway, thank you for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	19. Suspicion

**I don't want to jinx myself or disappoint anyone prematurely, but you should know that this is the last chapter I'll have out before the next school semester starts. I don't know what my schedule will be like in the long run—because my work schedule varies—but the first week, at least, is looking pretty busy. But I'll try to find a block of free time that's at least a little consistent.**

 **Thank you for reviewing the last chapter:** Fruitloop Trooper, Guest, dnofsunshine, Berry Doyle, **and** Omnicrom XR **! And,** Guest **, I think I can officially say that I've introduced all the characters who are going to be included. (With the exception of the original Digidestined the new kids haven't found yet.) So no. I only ever planned to include the main trio of Tamers and none of the minor or Tri characters.**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Suspicion**

"Where to go from here…" Kari murmured, walking slowly away from Henry's apartment building.

"Back home?" Gatomon suggested from her backpack. "I think it's about time for dinner."

Kari laughed softly. "Not really what I meant, but you're right." She sighed. "You know what's crazy? There are so many things to look into and people to track down… but who I really want to get in touch with is TK. He's rushing into all this, putting himself in danger, but I doubt he knows even half of what he's up against. But he _does_ know his way around the Digiworld, and we could use all the help we can get right now."

She could feel the ring on Gatomon's tail flick thoughtfully against her back, a dull thud to clear her thoughts. "But TK's always come back before, right? We might just have to wait until he returns."

Kari sighed. There was really nothing else they _could_ do. She made the trek up the stairs to her own apartment building, turned her key in the lock, and jumped at the sound of a badly stifled scream from further inside.

"Kari!" Her mother shot up from the table. "Oh, thank god."

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about," said her father from where he remained seated at the kitchen table. But his voice was weak, and she could tell from here that his hands were clasped so tightly together specifically to keep them from trembling.

"What's going on?" she asked, alarmed.

Her parents' expressions were both haunted, worse than she'd seen them in a long time. Shakily, her mother sank back down into her seat. "The Inoues called here about an hour ago. If Yolei doesn't come home by tomorrow morning, they're going to report her missing to the police."

She felt a shard of ice forming in her stomach. She had a sinking feeling that her parents were shaken up by more than this situation hitting close to home.

"Kari…" her father said, sounding hesitant. "Yolei's mother said that you told her she stayed over here last night." He cleared his throat. "We, um, we checked in on you before we left. We know she wasn't here with you."

"Kari," her mother cut back in, "do you know where Yolei is?"

If it was physically possible for her heart to seep out through the soles of her shoes, it would have by now. She didn't have a good excuse… And it wasn't like she could tell them the whole truth—she wasn't sure she even knew the whole truth herself. But she didn't think she could lie to her parents either, not with their eyes already looking so heartbroken.

"I have a pretty good idea," she admitted slowly. "But I can't tell you."

There were about three seconds of absolute silence… And then it all came crashing down.

"What?" Her mother's first word was a breathy whisper. Her next were growing increasingly shrill and emotional. "Do you hear what you're saying, Kari? You know exactly what her parents are going through right now!"

She saw her dad put a restraining hand on her mother's shoulder, but it was hesitant. And he was still looking at her like she was a stranger.

"She's with a friend," Kari blurted out, beyond caring how deep a hole she dug for herself. "Please tell her parents that she's going to be okay. And she's coming back. I don't know when… Probably not tomorrow. But she _will_ be back."

 _I'm going to make sure of it_ , she swore silently.

"I'm sorry," she said in conclusion, before turning to run back out the front door, leaving her parents' shouts and accusatory stares behind her.

"What now, Kari?" Gatomon asked, stretching up to rest more on her shoulder than in her backpack.

"I don't know," she got out around the lump in her throat. "But we've got to do something. Tonight."

 **…**

Henry thought he was going to lose his mind, waiting for his dad to come home that night. He'd occupied Suzi with a game of Princess Terriermon, ignoring his partner's betrayed look, until their mom got home… only to realize that he now had nothing to do but wait. He retreated to his room to fill in Terriermon, keeping an ear out for the front door all the while.

But he made it through dinner and gave his father a little time to settle in before he approached him that night. Janyu was sitting in the den, going over reports but seeming very relaxed. On the other side of the room, Rinchei was outlining an essay. In this household, Henry figured this was about as good as he was going to get without drawing attention to himself by asking for a private meeting.

He slid onto the couch next to him as casually as he could. "Hey, Dad, about your _Digimon_ project… what was the story again?"

Janyu blinked in surprise for a second before smiling fondly. "Well, the basis was of a group of kids brought together by fate to work with a creature designed specifically for them. A creature that could level up and grow more powerful as the kids themselves grew. When we were really ambitious, we considered giving each character their own storyline for the player to work through. And then all nine would come together to fight the last battle."

"Nine?" Henry asked, perking up a little. "I thought there were ten heroes."

"Well, not exactly. There were ten Chosen Ones. The twist was that the final villain at the end was meant to be a part of their team all along, but his powers and connection had been corrupted."

Henry could feel a light bulb flickering to life in the back of his mind. Hadn't Kari's partner said something about another human invading the Digital World? "And this tenth kid… What was he doing, exactly?"

Janyu laughed a little sheepishly. "Oh, you know, generic villain stuff. Slowly taking over the land and filling it with darkness. He would capture and infect Digimon that the heroes would have to fight. I guess the whole thing could have used a little more creativity, in hindsight. We thought we were so clever at the time, creating a computer game _about_ a digital world…"

Henry smiled. "They call that being 'meta' these days…"

"I'll keep that in mind. Why the sudden interest, anyway?"

"Oh, I was just looking through some new game releases…" he hedged awkwardly. "Do you think _Digimon_ will ever come back? Like, as a finished game?"

Janyu smiled a little sadly, nostalgic. "Honestly, I doubt it. What we had when we left off was a pretty rough sketch—nothing impressive enough to secure adequate funding, anyway. And all the Monster Makers are scattered around the globe these days… It was quite the undertaking at the time, though. I still credit _Digimon_ as the project that shaped my career. It changed the way I approach my work…"

"That's really cool, Dad," Henry said, trying to stand up inconspicuously. He could sense a tangent incoming. "If I think of anything else, I'll let you know, okay?"

He say Rinchei trying to hide a smirk as he made his exit, but his mind was already racing. He hurried back to his room, rifling through the folders on his desk to find where he'd stashed the papers with his new friends' phone numbers. This 'Digimon Emperor' Gatomon had described had presented himself as the big threat they were all up against, but really it was the AI they needed to outsmart. This Emperor wasn't some big villain they needed to bring down. He was another kid they needed to somehow convince to work with them.

He finally found the paper he was looking for—that Cody had insisted they all fill out before going their separate ways. Henry was immensely grateful to him. His own thoughts had been too full for him to even consider that they all have a way to get back in touch. He was beginning to think that, though he was the youngest, Cody might also be the most levelheaded of them all. So Henry would start with him.

 **…**

"Wow…" Izzy's voice was barely a whisper. He and Tentomon stood in the doorway, hesitant to step inside. After leaving Cody, he had holed up in one of Vademon's storerooms—where he'd found his laptop tucked away, to his great relief—and gotten to work, hacking into the very fabric of the Digital World. He'd managed it once before—before all this business with the crests and an elusive Digimon Emperor—the first time he'd gotten his partner to Digivolve.

If Cody's information was correct, Gennai was a central system to the Digiworld, capable of being tracked down through his ones and zeroes. Izzy had ultimately been able to specify coordinates for his code, which had led them to this little cottage in some forgotten valley of the Digital World. Except… it looked like someone else had beaten them to it.

The front door hadn't been closed properly, and the floor inside was strewn with trash. Gennai's cottage had been ransacked, but by who? Izzy's and Tentomon's eyes met, and they slowly crossed the threshold. Neither one of them made a sound, Tentomon hovering above the floor, Izzy placing his steps very carefully. There was a shuffling noise coming from the last room, and they made their way to the back of the house.

Perched on an equally messy desk in front of a clunky old computer was a green bug-like Digimon. It didn't seem to notice them. Its eyes were locked to the screen before it. Normally, Izzy would have come up with a plan, carefully debated whether he wanted to approach this Digimon or not. But the sight on the screen shocked a gasp out of him.

The little bug didn't seem concerned by the intrusion, though. He turned his head just enough the see them through the tears in his eyes. Tentomon's suspicion faded in favor of concern, but Izzy's eyes remained locked on the screen. Across it ran a news report that was most certainly from the real world. Izzy couldn't remember the last time he'd seen this many humans—human adults—in one place, even if it was just a married couple and a reporter. He tried to focus in on what they were saying.

"It has now been 48 hours since local child prodigy and athlete Ken Ichijouji disappeared from his home in Highton View Terrace. There was no evidence of a break in and have been no sightings since Ken was reported missing. Authorities urge anyone with information on Ken Ichijouji's whereabouts to come forward."

A second later, an image of the missing boy was superimposed on the screen underneath the number for the local tip hotline. Izzy thought Ken looked familiar… And then a chill crept through his stomach when he realized where he recognized that face. Spike up that hair, add a pair of dark glasses, twist that smile a little sinisterly…

"Tentomon! That boy…"

"Hmm?" His partner turned his attention to the screen as well and, though they'd only come face to face with Ken a few times, he soon saw the same things in that face that Izzy had. And let out a sharp squeak. "Oh my!"

Izzy reappraised the Digimon they'd found. "Are you working for the Digimon Emperor?"

A crackle of electricity sparked in the air in front of Tentomon, but the other Digimon did not seem wary of an incoming attack. He still appeared too despondent to care about his own wellbeing. At last, he answered sadly, "We were supposed to work _together_. As partners."

The other two boy faltered. Izzy pieced together slowly, "When you say _partners_ , you mean like… Chosen partners? Are you trying to tell me the _Digimon Emperor_ is a Digidestined? Or… was meant to be?"

Wormmon sighed. He finally turned himself around to face them. "It's a little more complicated than that…"

 **…**

Davis had seemed, simply, shocked when Kari appeared in person at his apartment that evening. But she was a little desperate and, as she'd known he would, Davis hadn't hesitated to go along with whatever she'd wanted once she'd told him she needed his help. Now they were on their way to Cody's home, figuring they'd better involved the brains of this operation before they made any further plans.

"Hey, I'm cool with going to see Cody," Davis said, struggling to keep up with _her_ for once, "but why _right now_? Instead of, like, tomorrow, once we've all had some sleep? Did something happen?"

When had Davis started making so much sense? She sighed and slowed her steps—just a little. "Yolei's parents are getting ready to report her missing. And my parents already suspect I know something. If we don't get this Digital mess sorted out soon, we're going to have the police to deal with, too."

Davis frowned. "Oh, jeez. I guess you're right, then; we better get a move on. Hey, I know Yolei was the real tech-y one, but between Cody and that kid Henry, maybe we can skip a few steps and find a way straight to the Digiworld ourselves."

Kari had to wonder how he could stay so optimistic. Davis was running purely on faith, and nothing had gone particularly well for them so far. Davis didn't even have a Digimon partner of his own. Yet here he was, constantly lifting everyone else up. "I was thinking the same thing."

They had reached the Hida household. The sun was just beginning to set, and Kari could easily picture the family still sitting around the dinner table. But once they got closer, it became clear something was amiss. The two didn't even get to the front door before it was flung open and Cody's mother was standing before them, looking more frazzled than they'd ever seen her.

Kari felt that shard of ice reforming in her intestines. Somehow, she knew what Mrs. Hida was going to say before the words even left her mouth.

"Please… Have you two seen my son?"

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **As I was writing this, I kind of had to laugh. I realized that the character I most relate to in this chapter is Janyu… reminiscing about how Digimon shaped his life and made him who he is today… It was my very first anime, and I feel the same way. It opened my eyes not only to the art style but also that kids shows could be, like, actually good. Just the fact that the story was willing to address things like adoption and divorce and sibling inferiority while empowering its characters to save the world… It was really moving to me, even as a little kid. But that's just my ramble of the day…**


	20. Sacrifice

**It's, like, actually a miracle that this is even just a week late. I'm taking a break from a lab report (that's going to be at least 10 pages by the time I'm done) to finish this. You all have been very understanding about all the information dumps and the number of times their story has had to be rehashed to fill in someone else… This is another one of those chapters. I tried to minimize any repetitiveness, but I also want to keep the conversations feeling… organic, I guess I'd say. I don't want to just cut to 'So they filled him in' a million times. Thank you all for your patience!**

 **(And a quick little note to avoid confusion, 'Hiroki' is Cody's father. Not to be confused with 'Hiroaki' who is Matt and TK's dad.)**

 **Thank you for reviewing the last chapter:** Fruitloop Trooper, Berry Doyle, Guest, **and** dnofsunshine!

 **Chapter Twenty: Sacrifice**

Henry was beginning to regret rushing out so recklessly. Perhaps he should have at least called first. He had made his way to the address Cody had left for him without any major bumps… and walked into the most awkward stare-down he'd ever encountered.

Kari and Davis were already there, standing in the front yard with mixed expressions of confusion and horror on their faces. In the doorway stood a distressed woman who had to be Cody's mother. His heart sank into his stomach as he continued forward. (He was beginning to wish he'd thought to grab a backpack for Terriermon to ride around in like Kari had; he was going to look even stranger, strolling up with a stuffed animal in his arms.) But it wasn't like he could just walk away now.

The sound of his footsteps drew everyone's attention. Three pairs of eyes snapped his way, and he tried to find the right words to insert himself into this situation, figure out what was going on without igniting the tension in the air. From this distance, he could see just how tightly Cody's mother was gripping the doorframe.

"Can I help you?" she asked shakily. Henry could see how her son had ended up so polite. In this state, he would have thought she was past the point of pleasantries.

He did his best to smile. "My name's Henry Wong. It's nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm a friend of Cody."

"Do _you_ know where he is?" she asked desperately.

He exchanged a wide-eyed look with Davis, who seemed equally lost. Kari looked like she was still struggling to form a response. But the silence continued. They were saved by an older man—Cody's grandfather, Henry assumed—who joined Cody's mother in the doorway.

"Fumiko," he said softly, even his quiet words jarring in the current atmosphere. "At least invite the children inside. We can get to the bottom of this over tea."

Cody's mother made room for them to pass… if only so she could turn to stare at the old man's retreating figure. But she didn't object when the three filed stiffly past her into the house.

"Is that really all you have to say?" she demanded, sounding like she was just a step away from the edge. "Your grandson is missing!"

Chikara paused on his way to the kitchen, looking back with a sympathetic expression. "I do not mean to mock your fear, Fumiko. Perhaps I'm just a superstitious old man… I can't explain it, exactly, but I have faith that Cody will be all right. It benefits no one to cripple yourself with worry."

She seemed to deflate a little as he walked away, turning back to the three in the hallway. "And you… You really don't know anything?"

They all exchanged hesitant looks, which she grabbed hold of immediately. "What? What is it?"

"It's just…" Kari began.

"Yolei's gone too," Davis jumped in. "That's why we're here. To see if Cody knew anything."

This explanation was both vague and impulsively overshared, but Kari nodded. None of the children were prepared for Mrs. Hida's reaction though. Far from being reassured, her face crumpled. She sagged against the wall, seeming unable to hold herself up any longer.

"Oh, god…" she whispered. "It's happening again, isn't it?"

Kari shivered at her tone while the boys exchanged more quizzical looks. Mrs. Hida just pointed towards the sitting room down the hall with a weak finger. Slowly, the children made their way into the next room, where the TV had been left on the local news station, though muted. Their current story was an interview with Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji, the boy genius's parents. They all must have seen a dozen set ups just like it—the family always seemed to be in the news for something. But it was immediately apparent that this one was different. Kari read the line of text scrolling across the screen and couldn't suppress a gasp. That made three local kids unaccounted for.

"I thought so," Henry murmured in the stillness. They both turned to look at him. He glanced towards the doorway, but there was still no sign of Cody's family. In hurried, hushed tones, he relayed what he'd learned from his conversation with his father. Finally, he finished with, "What are the chances this disappearance is unrelated?"

Kari turned back to the television with thoughtful eyes. "You think Ken Ichijouji is the Digimon Emperor?" But her words were not terribly skeptical. It _was_ hard to believe that another mysterious disappearance—of a boy so close in age, too—could be a coincidence.

And if that was the case, it was no wonder he'd gone missing now. She tried to take that as a good sign. If the Digimon Emperor had holed up in the Digital World more permanently, that had to mean Yolei and Cody were all right—and setting the Digiworld back in order—right? But if Henry was right, and the real test was to win Ken over to their side… she would have preferred to confront him here, in their world. There was some force out there, working to ensure the story played out the way it was meant to… But nothing had gone off without a hitch yet.

They didn't have time to brainstorm this before Chikara joined them. Cody's grandfather placed the tea set carefully down on the low table in the middle of the room, glancing at the news story on the television as he did so. The four settled themselves around the table, and he cleared his throat. "Cody's mother has gone to lie down. I don't think she's ready for this discussion just yet. But I would like to hear anything you three have to say on the matter."

There was a moment of silence. The old man seemed entirely open… but he was a little intimidating, too. Kari knew Cody greatly respected his grandfather. Much of the way the younger boy viewed the world had come from his lessons with this man. So she knew he valued manners, tradition, and above all else honesty. She sensed that they could trust him. But she needed more information first.

"Mr. Hida," she began, "what, exactly, happened tonight?"

Chikara took a sip of his tea, reflecting. "Cody had been acting a little off ever since he returned home this afternoon. He seemed… impatient throughout dinner. And as soon as we were finished eating, he locked himself away in his room. But when Fumiko went to check on him, he was gone. Vanished into thin air. I was in here the whole time. If he'd left the house again, I would have noticed."

He didn't need to say the last part. Cody never would have snuck out of the house without telling anyone where he was going in the first place.

"And now you say Yolei is missing as well?"

"Yolei's been missing for a few days, actually," Davis interjected, a touch of guilt bleeding into his tone.

"Sir…" Henry said haltingly. He was unsure where to start, but he'd gotten the same impression of this man that Kari had. "This is probably going to be hard to believe…"

He trailed off, but the man's expectant expression did not change. So he started at the beginning—the least incredibly part.

"When my dad was in college, he and a bunch of his programming friends started experimenting with AI—uh, artificial intelligence. They put together the code for a video game world and set the parameters for the story, but then their funding ran out, and they had to abandon the project. But the AI was more complete than they'd realized. It continued to develop even after they walked away, and… we don't know exactly how it managed this part, but it created an actual Digital World out there in cyberspace… capable of transporting people from our world over to its world—converting life into data and vice versa."

"Is that so…" Chikara murmured. His tone was not mocking, just a little hard to read.

"Yeah!" Terriermon chimed in as he jumped out of Henry's grasp, unable to stay silent any longer. "And I can prove it. Well, I guess I am the proof, actually…"

Henry's sound of protest faded into a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh my…" To his credit, Chikara's only reaction was to widen his eyes. When a more explosive response did not appear forthcoming, Gatomon lithely climbed out of Kari's backpack and came to sit in full view beside her partner. Cody's grandfather swallowed, composed himself, and asked, "And Cody… You all believe he has traveled to this other world?"

There was still no trace of disbelief on his features, so the three nodded slowly. Henry went on, "Um, but, sir? If Cody _was_ accepted by the Digital World, that means he has a Digimon partner too. And a lot of friends already there to look out for him."

Chikara surprised them all by chuckling. "There's a lot more to this story, isn't there?"

Kari thawed out a little, matching his smile with her own. "Yes… But we're going to be here a while."

 **…**

"Fascinating!" Izzy exclaimed once Wormmon was finished. "So the Digimon Emp—I mean, _Ken_ has a Digivice and crest as well… I suppose it's no wonder he can't get his crest to activate if his Digivice has been tainted. We're all proof enough of that. And then there's the part where he's not even trying to use it on his actual partner…"

If possible, Wormmon's antennae drooped even further. Izzy hurried on. "Anyway, Ken's trying to hack into the system to bring his crest to life?"

Wormmon nodded. "Yes, but he hasn't had much success yet. I think the dark energy is spread too thin. First he was only using it to infect the other crests. So he could see how they worked. Ken was going to see what made them malfunction and then build them back up. He was going to use that as a guide for his own crest. He really wasn't going to hurt anyone…"

"Well, he didn't do that part too well," Tentomon commented lightly. (He appeared oblivious to Izzy's reproving look.)

Wormmon's eyes welled up with tears again. "I _told_ him no power from the Dark Ocean could be trusted. That no one had ever gotten close enough to understand it. Ken said that was all the more reason to experiment with it… But it slowly started taking him over… And then it was too late. The Ken I knew was gone, and all the darkness left behind was the Digimon Emperor," he finished sadly.

Izzy had taken a seat at the desk, listening quietly while the news report continued to play on a loop in the background. Now he ran a single finger lightly over the keyboard. "As much as I hate to say it, I kind of understand where Ken was coming from. Can you imagine having that much data at your fingertips and being told not to use it? That everyone was afraid of it simply because no one understood it… What greater incentive is there to be that person to explore it and uncover the answers to all those mysteries?"

Tentomon buzzed up to hover in Izzy's line of sight affectionately. "Yes, but _you_ would never use that information to hurt people."

"Maybe Ken wasn't planning to hurt anyone either, not at first," he murmured. He never would have said there was a down side to curiosity… But in light of recent events… he now understood all too well that too much of a good thing could be dangerous. He finally tapped a key, closing out of the news story window. Whoever—or whatever—Gennai was, he was at the center of this world. He was excited to get a look at his operating system.

"Ken sounds like a smart kid," he commented as he clicked around. Wormmon nodded fervently.

"Do you think he could have done it?" Tentomon asked, interested. "Manipulated all the crests through their data?"

"If the darkness hadn't taken him over? Yes. I do." His fingers began moving faster and faster over the keyboard until they were practically flying over the keys, windows being opened, observed, and closed faster than anyone else's eyes could follow. "And we're going to track the other crests down the same way we got here."

"Right. Um… how did we do that again?"

Izzy's fond smile did nothing to stall his movements. "The crests—like Gennai—are a part of this world, which means they have their own code. It's not a perfect method, obviously—Gennai's code led us to his house but not to Gennai himself—but I'm going to try to track down the crests the same way… Assuming I can make sense of these programs…"

His brow furrowed; he sounded like he was starting to get frustrated. Tentomon scrutinized the screen and saw row after row of numbers. "What is all of that?"

"Do you know anything about how you were programmed?" Izzy asked, fondly skeptical.

"Not a thing," Tentomon confirmed cheerfully.

"Well, computers run on a binary code—basically, sets of numbers that tell the system what to do. But I can't find a translator anywhere… These days, the binary code is only one of the early steps. By the time these programs are fine-tuned and completed, developers are working with a much simpler system—there are translators built in so the values can be read as a human language, in words. But I don't see anything like that here—on any level." Slowly, Izzy removed his hands from the keyboard, appearing a little aghast. "It's not that I _can't_ translate it myself. But we'll be here for days, looking for something of use to us."

"Well, you did say you thought Gennai was another AI. He probably can read this code like regular words," his partner pointed out.

Izzy hummed in agreement but didn't seem cheered at all. Wormmon had remained quiet while the boy worked, but now he scuttled forward. "Ken was able to translate it using his Digivice… but I'm not sure how."

Izzy looked at Wormmon for a long moment, his expression impossible to read. Then, all at once, his energy returned. He pushed his chair back from the desk and pulled his own laptop out of his bag. He was soon tapping away at those keys, pulling out his Digivice as well in one fluid moment.

"All right, I'll bite," said Tentomon. "What are you doing now? …And why do I feel all tingly?"

Izzy glanced up confidently. "When we first got to this world, I managed to hack into its core to get you to Digivolve. The first time—when your system started overheating?—it's because I had some of the properties wrong. All Digivolution starts out with the same code." As if on cue, Wormmon shuddered as he began feeling the same sensation. "But each Digimon's code has slight changes that dictate what form they end up as. And a Digidestined's partner is directly connected to their Digivice. So if you can just bear with me for a moment, Wormmon, I should be able to connect you two through the Digivolution code, then run through the connection the opposite way and hack into Ken's system through you."

For a few moments there was silence but for the furious tapping of the keys or the two Digimon shifting uncomfortably every now and then. And then, all of a sudden, Izzy was crowing triumphantly and the prickling sensation was abruptly gone.

"You're in?" Tentomon asked.

Izzy made a noise of confirmation. "I'll have to be quick about copying his code, though. If Ken is as good as I suspect, we won't have long before he realizes he's been hacked."

They lapsed into silence again, Wormmon glancing at Tentomon for cues every now and then. Finally, the red Digimon waved a claw in a reassuring manner, stating, "Izzy gets like this sometimes when he's working. Just try to relax. He'll explain it all once he's done."

Wormmon tried to do as he suggested and settle back a little more on his back legs. But he couldn't seem to stop his eyes from moving—this time between the two partners. Even if Tentomon's role at the moment was just to sit back and watch, their dynamic was vastly different from the one he was used to. He knew there was no going back from his own actions today. He had firmly aligned himself with the people Ken was working against. He could only hope the other Digidestined had the power to save his partner… and that Ken was not past the point of being saved.

 **…**

"Well. This is quite the mess, isn't it?" Chikara had closed his eyes in thought. The story as they knew it was over, the tea long gone. Cody's grandfather sounded grim, but still not disbelieving. They hadn't lost him yet.

Kari cleared her throat, glancing at the TV. The station had long since moved on to show a weather forecast for tomorrow, but she couldn't get the image of Ken's parents out of her head. "Mr. Hida… There's one other thing. The other boy who went missing recently—Ken Ichijouji—we think he's mixed up in this too."

"As the villain," Henry added quietly.

"As the last member of our team," Davis corrected.

But Chikara didn't seem to hear them. He sighed. "They've been through so much already…"

The boys had been shooting looks back and forth, a silent argument taking place in their eyes. But now the old man had drawn everyone's attention back to him. He rose stiffly to his feet, taking the tea tray with him to deposit in the kitchen as he left the room. The three kids glanced at each other in confusion, but they soon heard his footsteps returning to them.

Chikara reentered the room with a complicated expression, something grasped in his hand. He carefully sat back down, placing the small blue device on the table before them all. For a moment, the three kids could only stare, speechless.

"Is that…?" Davis asked.

Kari nodded slowly. "It's a Digivice. That's what mine looked like before I traveled back through the Dark Ocean."

"Mr. Hida," Henry said, sounding breathless. "How… I mean when… Where did you get a Digivice?"

The man sighed again. "I don't know what Cody's told you about his father. I know he can be a bit reserved." He took a deep breath. "My son was called in with the emergency services that night. He was in one of the buildings that got hit in the attack. Anything… supernatural was gone by that point, but the damage was already done. The police were evacuating all the structures in danger of collapsing."

"And he was in one of those buildings?" Kari asked softly. Her fingertips were tingling, so she gripped her hands tightly together under the table. Something terrible was coming; she could feel it.

Chikara nodded. "He'd heard movement on the floor above… He was supposed to wait for backup. He shouldn't have gone into the building alone in the first place… But he'd seen a light in one of the windows, so he rushed in."

"From a flashlight?" Davis asked curiously.

"He thought so," answered Cody's grandfather. "He thought maybe it was something trapped, signaling for help. But when he got up there… It was a boy, standing in front of a computer."

Henry's brows furrowed. "But… the power was out that night. The buildings right in the middle of it all… They would have lost power first."

Chikara nodded. "I know. Hiroki told me all this on his death bed later that night. At first I thought the pain medicine the doctors had given him was messing with his head."

Henry shifted uncomfortably, and Kari realized that he likely hadn't know how this story ended—that Cody's father was dead. He swallowed. "What… What happened to him?"

"Hiroki said the boy refused to leave. He was glued to that computer screen, a little device of some sort in his hand. He tried to get to the boy… but it was too late. The wall fell in, and they both got caught in the debris. His backup officers did come up and were able to get Hiroki out of there, but… Many of his internal organs had been damaged beyond repair, and the boy had been too close. They believe something struck him in the head—that he was killed instantly…"

Chikara took a deep breath. "The doctors kept him comfortable until I could get there, but he was fading fast. He was really broken up over not being able to save that boy… It was hard to get him to tell me what had happened. It was… awful. The boy's device had landed near Hiroki in the destruction. He couldn't save the boy… But he was adamant that I take care of the device that he'd stayed behind for…"

"So there was another Digidestined this whole time?" Davis whispered. "Guess your dad's memory isn't what it used to be."

He got elbowed in both sides for his trouble, and Kari bowed her head. "I'm sorry for your loss. And I'm sorry if this makes me a little dense, but… I'm not sure what this has to do with Ken."

"That boy was Sam Ichijouji."

" _Sam_?" she repeated. "Ken had an older brother?"

Chikara nodded. "I'm not surprised you've never heard this part. As Ken got older and started making a name for himself with all his accomplishments, no one wanted to reflect on the tragedy in their past.

"But back then, Ken was just a sad little boy who'd gotten separated from his brother that night. The Ichijoujis came to Hiroki's funeral, and we attended Sam's. Cody was very young, and both boys were rather out of it. I'm not sure he even remembers meeting Ken."

"He never mentioned it," said Kari softly. "But you're right; he doesn't talk about his dad much. He never brought it up when we started talking about what happened to Tai and TK and all the others… I didn't even know he died the same night."

This revelation sat amongst them for a moment. At last, Davis asked, "So you kept his Digivice all this time?"

Chikara's eyes came to rest on the device on the table. "At Sam's funeral, I tried to give it back… Ken had wandered off into an empty room, away from all the mourners. I was hoping it might cheer him up, to be reunited with something that had been so precious to his brother. But he wouldn't talk to me. All he would say is that he didn't want it."

Cody's grandfather picked up the Digivice, holding it lightly aloft in his hand. "You've all seemed surprised that I haven't questioned your story too severely. It's not just that I was raised with certain superstitions. I've seen things…

"I left the device on the table that day and remained outside in the hallway to keep an eye on Ken. Eventually, he did go over to it. The entire time it was in my possession, I could have sworn it was a toy. Just a lifeless piece of plastic. It had a screen, but I couldn't see a button to turn it on. But that day… When Sam's brother got close to it, it began to glow, just as Hiroki had described. And then, right before my eyes, it… duplicated itself."

"What?" said Davis, eyes wide.

"When Ken Ichijouji touched that device, a second one formed right beside it," he repeated. "Out of thin air, it seemed. Ken took the new one with him, and I later went back and retrieved the original. And that was the end of it. Until now. This 'Digivice,' as you call it, has remained lifeless as I ever saw it since that day."

"Well… I guess that confirms it," said Henry, sounding a little shocked. They all seemed to be having a hard time processing it.

"Maybe we shouldn't be so surprised, though," Kari said at last. "We've already seen the Digiworld replacing Digidestined to restore the crests. I hate to say it, but maybe Sam was meant to be the original Digimon Emperor. I do have to wonder what he was doing that night, though. How did Sam get his computer working with no electricity?"

Henry nodded thoughtfully, but Davis just groaned at all the complicated questions. "Is that really so important right now? We were coming here to find a way to get Yolei back, and now we have to find Yolei _and_ Cody. Let's worry about all this other stuff later."

Kari frowned. "Without Cody, I'm not sure how far we'll get anymore."

"Actually, I have an idea," said Henry. "Mr. Hida, does Cody have his own laptop?"

 **…**

"And… done!" Izzy announced. And just in time. Half the screen went black as they watched, its perfect copy remaining intact on the other side. Ken's system had booted them out, but Izzy had everything he needed. Wormmon helped him navigate, pointing to the things he'd seen Ken click on.

And there it was, Laid out before him, Izzy saw all seven crests he and his friends bore, as well as an eighth and a ninth he was unfamiliar with. The crests of Sincerity, Hope, and Knowledge were shining brightly. He clicked around and was amazed at the depth of the program that Ken surely must have designed himself.

He looked through the data available on his own crest and was stunned to see a list of all his movements. It sent a chill running through his stomach. Ken had their exact location at his fingertips, if he only cared to look. One of his pointer fingers twitched over its key. His immediate reaction was to get in there and mess with the code—mask their position.

But he stopped himself at the last second. If Ken _was_ watching, this program would only tell him where they were. He may not know that they were onto him yet. And if he did something rash, gave that piece away, there was no telling how Ken would respond. Izzy wasn't willing to take that chance. Not until he had a better lay of the land, so to speak. So he took a deep breath… and clicked away.

TK's crest was showing coordinates he couldn't put a name to. According to Cody, TK was back in the Digital World right now. (His heart clenched at the thought of the little kid he remembered, alone, fighting a battle meant for all of them.)

The history listed for the crest of Sincerity was a little more interesting. Its location had not moved in quite some time, but he could see a history of each time it had been activated as well. The crest of Sincerity had been involved in a Digivolution recently, but… After he'd uncovered the code himself, Izzy had looked into all of his friends' coding too. And he may not have memorized them all, but he was confident that the code on the screen did not represent the change from Palmon to Togemon.

But this was also in keeping with Cody's information, and he supposed that solved the mystery of where Yolei had ended up. He explored the program a little more, and the results were disheartening. None of the other crests showed any signs of life… not since they'd first gone dark from Ken's interference. But one did look a little… off. Frozen in a way the others weren't.

Izzy's movements slowly began to pick up speed again. Yes… The program keeping track of one of the crests had been tampered with. By Ken? He doubted it. How would Ken benefit from inaccuracies in his own data? No. Some other force must be at play here.

The two Digimon remained quiet as Izzy worked… and worked… until finally he was able to uncover the original file. His eyes scrolled through the activity log, taking note of the recent dates, and finally coming to rest on the slightly warped symbol of a heart at the top of the screen.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Well, at least I can say that these information dumps are moving the story along. And that makes twenty chapters, guys. I can honestly say… that I still don't have a good feel for how long this story is going to be. The only fic I've completed was 25 and an epilogue, and I knew leading up to the end exactly how many more chapters there would be. Here… We've come so far, but there's still so much awaiting them. I hope you'll stick around for the ride!**


	21. Team

**I knew this chapter might be a bit late with the end of the semester looming over me, but I really didn't mean for it to be this delayed. On top of just being busy with school and work, I was sick for, like, the entire month of November. First the flu, then a bad reaction to a medication… Which only left me even more behind on my school work… But I'm back now and hope to get consistent updates back up and running.**

 **Thank you for reviewing the last chapter:** MoonChildTM, Angelfish369, leah61909, Fruitloop Trooper, **and** Sweet Cari!

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Team**

Kari had to admit she was a little relieved when Cody's grandfather chose not to follow them upstairs. He'd proven to be a surprise wealth of information, but she just… needed room to breathe. For some reason, her partners' (teammates?) presence did not leave her feeling like the room was closing in.

The three crowded into Cody's room, closing the door behind them. Davis was the one to break the silence, exhaling loudly. "Wow, what a crazy day. I feel like I keep waiting for all this to make sense, but every time we figure something out, things just get weirder."

Kari nodded. She knew what he meant. The world suddenly felt very small. Both worlds.

But Davis had already moved on, turning to Henry. "So what's your big plan?"

Henry nodded as well, breaking away from their little huddle. He sat himself down at Cody's desk, tapping a single key on his laptop. The screen lit up at once, showing them the last web page Cody had been looking at—the Palo Alto University's alumni page.

Kari and Davis leaned over either one of his shoulders, studying the page before them—Kari with interest, Davis confusion. "What? Don't tell me he was looking into colleges, in the middle of all this? That's a bit much, even for Cody."

Henry shook his head. "I don't think so. Palo Alto is my dad's alma mater. This is where the Monster Makers created the Digimon project."

"So Cody was doing research when he was sucked in," Kari surmised. "He must have found something directly related to the Digital World's code. I guess I shouldn't be surprised…"

But Henry had already scrolled up, opening Cody's search history. His eyes scanned the list of web pages and then widened in surprise. "These names… I recognize a few of them. I think Cody was tracking down the Monster Makers!"

Kari had to smile. How very like Cody, going back to the source when stumped. "Maybe he was hoping to get them back together and solve the problem from this side of things."

"Could they do that?" Davis asked curiously.

"They are the ones who put the world together," Henry answered thoughtfully. "And they are still some of the greatest scientific minds in the world today. So I'm sure they _could_ hack in and take the world apart… in theory, anyway."

Davis frowned, grumbling, "Why _in theory_? Why does everything always have to be so _complicated_ with you genius types?"

A smile quirked at Henry's otherwise serious expression. Even he seemed to be finally becoming endeared to Davis's blunt ways. "Sorry, you're right. Yes, I'm sure they could do it. But they probably wouldn't take that chance. They never planned for something like this—people from our world getting trapped inside. I'm not sure they could dismantle the world _and_ get them out…"

Davis groaned, pitching back to plop down on Cody's bed. "So we're back where we started. Again."

"Maybe… Maybe not." Henry's eyes never left the screen. "I'm going to follow up on this. The Monster Makers used code names in their reports. It looks like Cody tracked down all but one… Shibumi. Of them all, he seems like he'd be the most local. I think I'll see if my dad knows anything about him. What about you two?"

Kari and Davis blinked at each other, feeling abruptly dismissed. The atmosphere of comradery had certainly chilled a bit. And without the urgency of a plan at hand, she could feel their time constraints closing in on them again.

"I guess… we should all be off then," she said slowly. But she couldn't fathom going back home after the scene she'd made earlier. Not without the promised results. Kari took a deep breath. She didn't feel like she'd gotten the answers she'd been searching for but supposed there could be no more putting it off. She glanced down at Gatomon and saw a knowing look in her partner's eyes.

"Okay," she responded, steeling herself. "I'm going to go back to the bakery, fill in Takato."

Davis looked at her and seemed to make up his mind. Then, surprising them both, "You're right. We should finally get this team together. Do either of you know where Rika lives?"

 **…**

Yolei jumped back with a yelp at the sound of the huge lock on the castle's main door. Standing at her side, Hawkmon looked distinctly unimpressed.

In truth, her post in this fortress had not proven to be terribly demanding. ShogunGekomon had begun mobilizing his troops of Gekomon as stealthily as possible in the surrounding areas, preparing for an attack. And Yolei… was left to wait. She couldn't even say she was _supervising_. She was really just occupying the castle, anxiously waiting for the next threat—the dark shadow of the Digimon Emperor looming over them. Honestly, it was just now that she was even getting out from her expansive personal rooms to explore the rest of the castle.

She stiffened, standing practically at attention as the door creaked open. Hawkmon remained loyally at her side, not seeming nearly as concerned. She remembered to breathe a second later when a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.

Somehow, even after her lifestyle had gotten rougher, Mimi still looked strong and radiant. After another second, Yolei could make out an odd collection of Digimon accompanying the former princess. Tadpole-like creatures, a pink bipedal rat with an anthropomorphic blob of cheese, and what looked to be a giant teddy bear. Mimi lead them all inside, and Palmon made sure to carefully shut the door behind them.

Yolei backed up to make room for them all, sending a relieved smile Mimi's way. "You came back!"

"Of course!" her predecessor answered with a wink. "I said I would, didn't I?" She turned back to observe their guests. "Not for good, though. Hang on; I'll explain everything in a minute."

Mimi clapped her hands together loudly and raised her voice. "All right, everyone, listen up! Welcome to the Gekomon's castle. This is my friend Yolei. She's watching over this place for me while I'm gone. So if you need anything before I get back, Yolei's in charge." From where he stood along the wall, ShogunGekomon snorted, but Mimi didn't seem to notice. "Thank you all for your patience and support. For now… Just try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

The assembled Gekomon, their boss, and the castle's new occupants all dispersed, going off to explore their surroundings. Soon only the two Digidestined and their partners remained. Only now did Yolei see the touch of weariness behind Mimi's smile. "I guess I should probably fill you in now, huh?"

They made their way to the kitchen, where they were hastily supplied with tea. They sat themselves at the tiny wooden table in the corner, designated for the workers' breaks. The action was still distinctly royal when Mimi took a sip of her tea. A part of Yolei wondered if the older girl had ever seen this area of her domain before. But she didn't have time to linger.

"Palmon and I have been going back through the surrounding villages, trying to be as discreet as possible. We were going to try and find the others, but… We couldn't ignore the problems around us." Mimi grimaced. "A lot of the towns are in pretty bad shape. This territory seems to be the only one the Emperor left alone, probably so I wouldn't suspect anything… Of the ones that aren't completely abandoned, there weren't many Digimon that still had the heart left to join the resistance."

Yolei wrapped both hands around her teacup apprehensively. "Is that what we're doing? Forming a resistance?"

Mimi saw right through her bravado and smiled encouragingly. "I haven't run into any of my friends, and no one's heard anything about the other Digidestined being active anywhere. So it's not like we can count on anyone to come rescue us if we just wait around here. As Digidestined, we have a responsibility to this world and the Digimon who live here."

"And so we're turning them into an army?" Hawkmon asked, sounding a little skeptical.

Yolei thought she saw Mimi's eye twitch. "I'll admit… we're a little weakened right now… We're not really in a position to defend them single-handedly… So teaching them to defend _themselves_ is the next best thing!" (Yolei had to admire Mimi's ability to keep her cool. She was still learning herself how best to deal with her partner's unflappable nature.) "In fact, if Matt were here, he'd probably be advocating to teach the local Digimon to fight regardless of whether we were at full strength or not. I bet he'd think it's good for them to be more self-sufficient."

"Matt…" Yolei repeated. "That's TK's brother, right?"

Mimi nodded, looking melancholy. "Yeah… Apart from Joe, he was always the most responsible. A little uppity, though. Or I guess _proud_ is a better word. He and Tai used to butt heads over _everything_."

"You must miss them…" Yolei murmured. Mimi's reminiscing was making her heart ache for her own friends. Before, when they'd only been brainstorming… when all of this had still been so far away… being a part of a group had been like a safety blanket for her. Now, she would have settled for just their company. And _her_ team had only been separated for a few days. She could only imagine how Mimi felt.

Her newest friend nodded emphatically. "The last time I saw everyone, we were still a bunch of lost kids with this huge prophecy thrust on our shoulders… We had no idea what we were doing… We argued over the dumbest things…" Mimi laughed a little. "And if _I've_ come this far, I have to believe everyone else has gotten stronger too. When we all meet again, maybe we _will_ stand a chance of saving this world."

She stood up decisively from her chair, her energy renewed. "I trust you to hold down the fort here. We're going to venture out further this time, so we'll be away for longer."

Yolei stood too, trying to absorb some of Mimi's confidence. "Be safe…"

"There's no better time for it," Palmon spoke up. "The Digimon Emperor seems to have disappeared."

Yolei's eyebrows rose hopefully. "Really?"

Mimi nodded. "I was surprised to hear from ShogunGekomon that he hadn't called to check in on us yet. We were gathering intelligence out there too. No one's seen the Emperor in days."

"Do you think maybe he's gone for good?"

Mimi did not seem so optimistic. "I doubt it. Why would he? There was nothing threatening his power until you showed up. Even now, I wouldn't want to face him just yet. I don't know what yet… But he's got to be working on something big."

 **…**

"Are you sure about this, TK? It feels wrong to just leave them here…" Patamon seemed to shrink a little from where he was perched on his partner's shoulder.

"I know. We'll come back. But if we set them free now, we'll be discovered, and this whole mission will be for nothing," TK answered, doing his best to keep his eyes facing forward.

It had taken them the better part of the day to creep down into the valley where the Digimon Emperor's hideout was based. It had seemed a little suspicious that the place had been so lightly guarded, but they'd managed to sneak in unseen. TK had quickly realized that the structure that had appeared pyramid-shaped from the outside must actually be shaped like a diamond with the second point stretching deep underground. And with each level they descended, a new horror awaited. They'd currently waded through three levels of cells, each and every one housing a captured Digimon.

He suspected they'd all been down here for a long time, trapped in the gloom. In the higher levels, some had maintained their fighting spirit, thrashing against their collars and prisons. Down here, most were too dejected to even raise their eyes as they passed.

Like Patamon, every fiber in TK's being was shouting at him to set them free. But he restrained himself. He strongly believed that the Emperor must be hiding something crucial in the bottommost level of his lair. Why go to such trouble to design it this way otherwise? And if TK could take out a major source of his power, perhaps it would distract him long enough for TK to get back to Kari and convince her to help him after all. So they pushed on.

At last, the floors began to narrow noticeably, and TK could tell they were nearing the end. They were about halfway down the final staircase when the temperature very abruptly dropped ten degrees. TK and Patamon exchanged a look. There was something dark down here…

Before he could steel himself, his steps slowed. He couldn't stop the feeling of foreboding from creeping up on him. But they'd come this far.

But there was no way to prepare himself for what he saw when he turned the corner.

 **…**

Henry wondered if it seemed suspicious for a sudden interest in his father's past to arise twice in one night. He hoped he wouldn't have to answer any tricky questions, but they didn't really have the time to be inconspicuous anymore.

The apartment was mostly dark by the time he returned home. His mother had left the light on over the stove for him, but he didn't hear any movement deeper in. Terriermon leapt off his shoulder on his way in, and Henry left him to his own devices, his mind on other things. And finally, luck seemed to be on their side. He smiled at the light shining under the crack of the door to his father's study. Sure enough, he slowly pushed the door open to find a tired-looking Janyu seated at the computer.

"Welcome home," he greeted with a smile. "Did you have a good time with your friends?"

"Yeah." He stepped into the room. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, just a report for work I figured I'd get a head start on. What's up?"

"I was thinking some more about your Digimon project. The other Monster Makers… Have you kept in touch with any of them?"

Janyu got a nostalgic twinkle in his eyes. "No, I can't say I have. Dolphin reached out a few times, but… Well, what can I say? Life just got in the way."

Henry smiled a little awkwardly. Yeah, four kids and a job on the other side of the world tended to do that… "Not even Shibumi? I always got the impression he was local."

Janyu brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Shibumi was always a little… odd. It was his idea to use code names, and he took it the hardest when the project disbanded. Everyone else… We all moved on to other things, but he kind of just disappeared… I did hear that he came back to Japan, though. We all assumed he got a regular, quiet job and settled down here."

"But you didn't always call each other by your code names, right?" Henry prodded. "You could track Shibumi down if you wanted to?"

Janyu smiled conspiratorially, like he was catching on. "Hypothetically speaking, yes. Gorou Mizuno was his real name. I don't know where your sudden interest in game design came from, but I think you'll get an interesting perspective if you find him. Shibumi was always our most creative mind. Every time we thought we'd covered everything the AI could possibly encounter, Shibumi would bring up something no one had considered… The project may have been shut down regardless, but we never could have gotten even as far as we did without him."

Henry smiled appreciatively, said his goodnights, and left his father sitting there with his wistful look. As soon as the study door was closed behind him, Henry's footsteps quickened, carrying his swiftly but softly down the hall. His younger sister's door had been left ajar. As he passed by, he saw Terriermon sneak out of the kitchen and—out of the corner of his eye—dart in to silently leave a treat on her nightstand. His smile softened as his partner slipped back out with Suzi none the wiser, slumbering on peacefully. As much as Terriermon might complain, Henry knew the little girl had firmly claimed a section of his heart.

But this stealthy act of kindness went without comment as the two slipped into Henry's room—he had too much on his mind to tease his partner tonight.

"What a crazy day," Terriermon commented, pulling himself up onto the windowsill and peering out at the streetlamps.

"It's not over yet," Henry answered absently, opening up his laptop and searching Gorou Mizuno's name. As expected, there wasn't much. His dad _had_ said Shibumi hadn't gone on to do any further work in the field. He was just starting to lose hope—it was probably too much to ask to find his personal address just floating around as public information—when he stumbled across something unexpected.

A newspaper article reporting a traffic accident. There were no deaths, thankfully. But the most serious injury reported happened to be one Gorou Mizuno. A follow-up article months later revealed that Shibumi had remained comatose with pessimistic prospects and—most importantly—gave the name of the hospital where he was being treated.

Perhaps this shouldn't have made his heart soar. After all, what insight could Shibumi possibly give them if he was in a coma? But Henry had learned to trust his instincts. And it couldn't possibly be a coincidence that both articles had been written four years ago—shortly before the incident that had set this all in motion. No, at the very least, he had to check this out.

So he shut down his laptop and motioned to Terriermon. "Are you up for another adventure?"

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **You may have to wait a bit longer for the TK suspense to be resolved. If all goes according to plan, the next chapter should be another of the big ones, and I try to keep those focused on just the one person—and crest—in question.**


	22. Reliability

**Are you all ready for this monster? I was not ready. I swear I meant to have this chapter up like a week ago, but it just… kept… going. More and more big plot things started showing their face as I wrote. In a '** _ **hey, what if this were to happen too?**_ **' sort of way. And most of them fit, so I just let them happen… But I also didn't want to skimp on the detail or character focus points just because I felt it getting longer. (I love Henry's character, and it feels like I've been waiting to write his personal chapter for forever. And his personal struggles just didn't really fit into any of the earlier chapters, so you got it all at once.) Even with some of my longer chapters, this was the first one that I started to seriously consider cutting off before it was done and telling it in two parts, but… By the time I hit a point where that would have felt natural, it was already more than half done, so I just pushed ahead to get the whole thing out. So thank you for sticking with me!**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter twenty-one:** Fruitloop Trooper, Sweet Cari, ReaperOfShadows125, Berry Doyle, **and** dnofsunshine!

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Reliability**

"…Are you still awake, Henry?"

The boy brought a slow finger up to his lips without saying a word or opening his eyes. He stood with his back pressed up to the wall of his bedroom, Terriermon watching from his bed. All the lights were off, and from the outside, it would appear that the whole house was asleep.

Henry would settle for just everyone _else_ being asleep. He'd finally heard his dad abandon his office for the night and taken up his current position. He'd waited until he heard his father's familiar snores fill the silence. He stayed put for a while longer; Henry himself had been woken by Janyu's snoring before. But it was a familiar nighttime sound—it never took long for him to drift back off. He gave his siblings plenty of time to do the same.

At last, the only sounds apart from the snoring were the usual creakings of the apartment. Henry straightened up silently and gestured to his partner, who leapt from the bed to latch onto Henry's shoulder—a comfortable position by now. The boy slipped out of his room and down the hall, only relaxing once he was out the front door and into the main hallway. Their building didn't have a doorman, so he didn't have to worry about getting caught that way.

Henry tried to breathe deeply, wondering if he was imagining the chill to the summer night air. He knew he probably should have held off on this little excursion until morning—until both his mind and body had been given a chance to rest—but he doubted he would have gotten much sleep anyway.

He started down the street, knowing it would be a bit of a journey. There were no trains running at this time of night. He was kind of looking forward to having the time with his thoughts… He should have known better.

"This is kinda cool, huh, Henry? It's been a while since we were out on a mission like this." Terriermon's voice cut through the quiet nighttime sounds, and he had to smile, even if it was a little bittersweet. "You were like a ninja, sensing when everyone was asleep. Did you learn that in your kung fu lessons?"

Henry laughed. "It's Tai Chi, and I was just listening for the right sounds. But… kind of. Sensei always starts out our lessons with exercises to promote awareness of your position and surroundings."

Henry fell back into silence. Terriermon wasn't wrong—about any of it. And he supposed it did all connect back.

Life as a Tamer had begun very abruptly for him. He'd been sitting at his computer one night when his Digivice and partner had fragmented out of the screen without warning. One moment everything was normal. The next, he had a bizarre being in his arms—and a message scrolling across the screen before him.

At first he'd been excited, being tasked with a 'mission,' as Terriermon had called it. It sure sounded like they were on the right side, at least. Protecting the city from untamed, unruly creatures… It was a worthy cause. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Henry still had nightmares about the parking garage collapse. Getting Terriermon to Digivolve had been effortless. They'd cornered the wild Digimon and the needed power-up had flowed through Henry, reacting to his Digivice, before he'd even _tried_ to call upon it. It had been a spectacular sight… at first. Adrenaline had coursed through him as he watched his partner take down their first target. It felt like they'd accomplished something grand… Like they were on the path to greatness.

But then things had quickly spiraled out of control. The upgrade to Gargomon had been too much for his partner to handle. He'd kept shooting, blasting everything in the vicinity—but most importantly, the support beams—until he'd run out of energy and downsized back to his Rookie form. Henry had scooped him up and gotten them both out of there, just in the nick of time.

But his legs had failed him across the street, trembling too hard to hold him up. He'd collapsed at the same time as the parking garage, an unconscious Terriermon in his arms. He'd watched the destruction, heart hammering strongly enough to shake his whole frame, until he heard the sirens drawing closer. Finally, Henry had forced himself to his feet, getting them out of there before they could be discovered. But the experience still haunted him.

"Henry?" Terriermon's prodding broke through the haze once more. "You're thinking again."

He managed a smile. "I'm always thinking."

"You know what I mean." Terriermon's voice was soft and unusually solemn. "You're thinking about our first fight again." Henry made a somewhat reluctant confirmative noise. "I told you I was sorry."

"I'm not mad at you," Henry answered guiltily.

"But you don't trust me anymore," his partner rebutted quietly.

These words tugged at his heart, and Henry reached up to lift Terriermon off his shoulder and hold him to his chest, tucking the creature's head under his chin. He couldn't bear to meet his eyes just yet, but he hoped his feelings were getting across to his partner.

"It's not you," Henry told him sincerely. "It's… us. There's something we just haven't… connected yet. We'll get there."

Terriermon remained silent. This time. This was not the first time they'd had this conversation—or, struggled to have it. He could hear his partner's unspoken comeback: _How are we ever supposed to make that connection hiding out in your room?_

And it wasn't a comeback he really had an answer to. It was true. He'd put a stop to their role as a Tamer-Digimon pair immediately. There had been so much destruction the first time—that had ultimately been blamed on a minor, extremely localized earthquake—that he just couldn't get himself into the mindset that would justify trying again. He had to wonder if maybe he just wasn't meant to possess this sort of power. Tai Chi was about meditation… awareness of the self… and defense. It wasn't an offensive martial art. Every time Henry had found himself in a position to attack, things has quickly spiraled out of his control. There was the incident with the bully, of course… But it had been weighing on his mind a lot more since he'd been handed a literal monster with unimaginable powers.

This wasn't something he'd discussed with anyone else, not even Takato. He hated to say it, but it was almost something of a relief to realize this other boy was even less prepared for the life of a Tamer than he was. Even if that did leave the whole job on Rika's shoulders. (She seemed to prefer it that way anyway.) He held back a self-deprecating laugh. There were certainly no 'Chosen Ones' to be found on this side of things. The Tamers set-up reeked of human error.

He stopped at a red light—despite the total absence of any traffic—and took a deep breath to clear his head. They weren't far from the hospital now. At least with the other kids' arrival, he felt like the was doing something useful again.

Henry's pace slowed when he reached the hospital doors. Now came the tricky part. It was well past visiting hours. He stood at the entrance for a few minutes, searching out a way in. He could see the doors to the ER from here, but it didn't look like a particularly busy night—no more business that he would expect to see from a city hospital at 2 AM. He was sure the nurses were handling the current crowd with no trouble, so he ruled out that path. And then, very suddenly, he saw his opening. Raised voices in the lobby. He peeked through the front doors and saw a frazzled-looking woman around his mom's age having a heated argument with the equally frazzled-looking woman at the front desk. The one security guard on duty that night had already drifted over towards the confrontation.

It was almost laughably easy to slip past them and onto the elevator. Henry had become quite familiar with this hospital after his grandfather's stroke two years ago. He pressed the button to be taken to the floor where the long-term patients were housed. There were a few nurses patrolling this floor, but Henry didn't run into any trouble. He'd found that so long as you walked with purpose, you were unlikely to be stopped and made to explain yourself.

He'd come armed with old photos—some of Shibumi in his college days and a few he'd tracked down of the man as an adult. Even so, he would have been hopelessly lost without the name cards outside the rooms. Because when he crept up to the bedside of the room designated as Gorou Mizuno's, he knew he never would have recognized this man from any of his old pictures.

He looked… old. Aged by years of being bedridden in a hospital. This Shibumi was unnaturally thin—surviving on an entirely IV-diet—and his hair was lank and longer than it had ever been. (Henry wondered if there was some sort of protocol for how long it was allowed to get.) There were a few monitors showcasing his vital signs around the bed but surprisingly few tubes linking them to their patient. The man's chest rose and fell steadily… If he didn't look too closely, it really did look like the man could just be sleeping.

"Whoa…" Terriermon's whisper sounded awfully loud against the backdrop of soft beeping. "This is just… sad."

Henry had to agree. He wondered after Shibumi's family. Did he have any? He didn't know if the man was officially brain dead, but the thought made him shudder. Imagine being stuck in this state indefinitely, just because there was no one in your life to make that decision…

Terriermon shifted uncomfortably in his arms. "Uh, Henry? I don't think this guy's gonna be much help."

Henry hummed solemnly and took a few steps closer. But as he did, the beeping began to get more frantic. He stopped abruptly, feeling a little frantic himself as he searched the monitors, trying to pinpoint the change. But none of the screens gave anything away, and they weren't interrupted by any concerned nurses… With a start, Henry realized where the beeping was sourced.

He pulled his Digivice from his pocket and was immediately met with a blinding light. His last thought before his surroundings disappeared… was that they were sure to be caught now.

 **…**

When he came to, he was in a place so dim that it took him a moment to confirm that he had, in fact, opened his eyes. He was lying on his back in an inch of water, Terriermon slumped over on his chest. He brought a hand up to his partner's head slowly, but he didn't register any pain. He slowly rose to his feet, bracing himself with one hand and using the other to keep Terriermon anchored to his chest. Just being in this place gave him to oddest sensation. It did not feel like he'd instantly dried out, exactly. More like everything—from the air to his skin and clothes and somehow even the water below—was just equally damp. And there was a dreariness that permeated absolutely everything, bringing a chill to settle in his core.

The realization of where they were sank in even before his partner woke up, took a look around, and shuddered. "The Dark Ocean. Oh, boy… You don't want to hear the tales I've heard about this place."

His partner was uncharacteristically solemn as he started forward. He didn't know where they were headed, but the atmosphere down here was making him… jumpy. He felt like something was pulling him forward, and it wasn't long before a strange sound pierced through the gloom. Henry had never done much gardening or yardwork, living in the city, but he recognized it as the clacking of stone against stone.

He hastened forward and soon began to encounter discarded piles of stone and brick, half-built structures. Until at last, another figure came into view. His heart rate sped up a few notches. Another human, here? That could only mean one thing—because he doubted the Digimon Emperor would be down here building bridges. He'd deduced that that's what this was. Henry glanced overhead and saw what was definitely the start of a bridge, though where it was meant to lead, he wasn't sure.

"Uh, hello?" Terriermon spoke up, trying to get the attention of the boy before them, to no effect. He raised his voice even more. "Hey! Can you hear me?!"

Henry winced, but the boy before them continued his work, moving bricks from one place to another, as if he was still alone. As Henry watched, tiny flashes of light would shoot out from the Digivice clipped to his waist and bind the debris together. Indeed, he waited and watched for a few minutes and saw the bridge steadily getting longer, as if a proper crew had come to his aid.

…So why didn't the bridge appear even half-finished yet? For it was clear that the boy before them had been down here for quite some time, possibly even the full three years since the original team had split up. He would have been a full head taller than Henry if he hadn't been slouched over as he was. Henry had yet to see his face, but he'd seen the old pictures of the first crew, and none of the boys had had hair down to their shoulders before.

A sigh drew their attention to the far periphery of the gloom as a small creature crawled into their line of sight. He supposed many Digimon were rather… oddly proportioned, (thinking of Terriermon's ears) but this one's front paws were at least twice the size of its back ones. The tuft of orange hair adorning its head was so bright in these settings it was almost garish. But its downcast eyes were all too fitting.

"Good luck," he told them disparagingly. "I haven't been able to talk to Joe for weeks. That's what it feels like anyway. Time gets a little weird here."

Terriermon shuddered again. "I've never heard anything _good_ about the Dark Ocean. It's a place that seeks out a person's deepest fears and insecurities, and latches onto them. Most Digimon who find their way into the Dark Ocean never find their way back _out_. Some say they're eventually eaten away at until they cease to be Digimon at all…"

A part of Henry wanted to chide his partner for being overdramatic, but this was hardly a baseless ghost story. It was a lot harder to muster up that calming tone when they were standing in the midst of the place that had spawned those horrors.

The other Digimon nodded. "We've been separated from the others for a while, but I figure that's what happened—the darkness from this place started seeping into the Digiworld somehow and affecting all the kids. Soon they all started doubting each other… and themselves. Matt went off on his own first… and it was all downhill from there."

Terriermon dropped down so they were on the same level as the Digimon slumped in on himself again. In his usual blunt way (making Henry sigh inwardly) he replied, "That sucks. But what's he doing down here? And who are you anyway?"

"I'm Gomamon, and that's my partner Joe," he answered, eyes drifting over to the boy whose movements had not ceased through all of this. "When everyone started going off on their own, Joe tried not to worry. (Which was kind of pointless, really. Worrying is what Joe does best, you see.) He was convinced that if we could just find the way out and connect the two worlds, everything else would fall into place. I tried to tell him it wouldn't be that simple—that the Dark Ocean doesn't run on logic like he does, but he wouldn't listen. …We argued a lot at first. I'd never leave him, of course. He's my partner, and I'd be lost without him, but I refused to help him keep building. He hasn't said a word since. I'm not sure he even knows I'm still here…"

Terriermon looked back at Henry with a worried expression. Gomamon was so beaten down, not even he could joke about it. But Henry's mind was still working. "So… have you been unbuilding everything he's put together?"

For the first time, Gomamon perked up with signs of energy—and indignance. "What?! I'd never do that! I may not agree with his methods, but Joe's my _partner_! It's my duty to protect him and help him however I can!"

"By slinking around and watching?" Terriermon started, but Henry cut off his mutter with a sharp nudge with his foot.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he amended quickly. "But something _is_ undoing his work. He's been working steadily for as long as we've been here, and he hasn't made any progress."

Henry pointed to the bridge above them. Though he was positive he'd seen that strange light adding to it as Joe worked, the bridge had not grown any longer. In fact, he may have been reading too much into things, but he could have sworn it had been purposefully unbuilt. Like it had gone back in time to just a few minutes before. He wondered just how long Joe had been stuck in this loop. Even Gomamon looked up as if he'd never really considered the bridge before. He quickly decided that the sooner they got out of this place, the better, worried that it might already be messing with their heads.

Joe still had not stopped, and Henry was starting to be concerned for his health. The older boy had clearly aged during this undertaking, so time _was_ passing, even if they'd stopped feeling it. He exchanged another glance with Terriermon, who shrugged, and took a few steps closer. Even if they did figure out what was going on here, it wouldn't matter if they couldn't wake Joe up. Might as well get the obvious answer out of the way first.

Experimentally, he reached out a hand and placed it on Joe's shoulder. The older boy's movements _did_ stall… but Henry barely had time to notice as a jolt went through him, accompanied by another flash of light from each Digivice. At once, Henry knew that the flood of emotions that coursed through him belonged to the boy before him.

It was mostly desperation—a staggering amount. His movements may have slowed to a steady rhythm, but his mind had not. Those movements were spurred on by a crushing weight of responsibility. He suddenly found his mind privy to thoughts he shouldn't have had access to. They had yet to share two words with each other, but Henry found… that he _knew_ Joe. He felt his need to protect all the other Digidestined, as the oldest. The panic he felt as the comradery amongst the other kids broke down and fell apart.

Honestly, it… it reminded him of himself. After meeting Takato, Rika, and lately Davis too, Henry had been struck by a similar sense of responsibility. They all seemed so… young, rushing into danger without a thought towards the consequences. They didn't understand what they were getting into… not like he did. Images of that wrecked parking garage flashed before his eyes again, a tremble from residual fear shuddering up through his body. And all the horror and guilt that went along with it. No. If there was any way he could spare the others from the darker side of this adventure, he would.

He could feel himself falling into that dark hole… the haze encroaching on his mind… just as Terriermon and Gomamon slammed into him, knocking him back and dislodging his hand from Joe's shoulder. A gasp forced its way out of his throat, and his eyes flew open. He flexed his fingers experimentally, shocked to find that his hand was already stiff from being in one position for too long. He raised his eyes to see both Digimon watching him with concern and, in Terriermon's case, fear.

"This is bad, Henry," his partner put forth—unnecessarily, for sure, but the way his voice shook made this easy to overlook. "We need to figure out what's going on and get out of here, before we get sucked into this murk too!"

"I'm not going anywhere without Joe," Gomamon said firmly, his renewed fire still going strong.

Terriermon gave him a look that Henry recognized as a typical precursor to one of his partner's saucy comebacks, so he quickly cut in. "That's why we're here. And something tells me we wouldn't be finding our way out of here on our own anyway."

Cautiously, he brought his own Digivice—its purple plating barely noticeable in the gloom—closer to Joe's older model. Sure enough, the two lit up in unison, and finally, Joe slowed until his methodic movements halted altogether. He heard Gomamon gasp as his partner straightened up and blinked, looking around in confusion.

The haze only seemed to clear completely when Gomamon launched himself at Joe, tears in his eyes, shouting, " _Joe_!" in an elated tone.

Joe caught him—just barely—staggering back. "Gomamon, what—" He cut himself off, looking around more thoroughly, dismay filling his eyes as he took in the lack of progress he'd made. But finally being wiped away by surprise and more confusion when he caught sight of Henry. " _Who_ are you?"

Before he could answer, Terriermon strode forward. "Your rescue crew, here to save the day. I don't suppose you could have picked someplace a little less… evil?"

Joe looked back and forth from one to the other until Henry sighed and told him, "I'm Henry, and this is Terriermon. It's kind of a long story, but we _are_ here to get you out."

Joe finally seemed to regain some of his ability to think clearly, because he replied, "Well, I don't know how you're going to do that, unless you can help me finish this bridge. Given that _someone_ around here is allergic to hard work."

Gomamon sniffed, the fire in his eyes flaring up again. "Only because _you_ wouldn't listen to reason! And here you're supposed to be the one all about logic."

This too, was terribly familiar. Even while they were snapping at each other, he could see the affection underneath their frustration. These two may have seemed impossibly different, but they'd been through a lot together. Henry was just turning to his own partner, to see if he had also picked up on the familiar dynamic playing out before them, when a new voice—eerily shrill—joined them.

"What do we have here? Someone else has come to play?"

A shudder ran through him even before he locked eyes with the creature perched on the unfinished bridge above. He'd gotten used to Digimon resembling animals. By contrast, this one felt like some creepy, possessed doll out of a horror film. The entire thing was made from wood and metal, bound together with thick red thread. The way its wooden legs swung back and forth over the edge—in a strikingly childlike fashion—felt like a direct mockery of the predatory look in his eyes.

Henry tried to keep his hand from shaking as he brought up his Digivice and pointed it at the Digimon before them. The Tamer version had come with a few extra features absent from the first model. It allowed them to identify the creatures they were up against. Everything was still as an image of the Digimon formed from his Digivice.

Puppetmon. A virus type. And… a Mega. All of his building apprehension hit its peak just then. Gargomon—with all his uncontrollable power—had only been Champion level. They were incomprehensibly out of their league here.

Terriermon didn't seem to share the cold sweat he'd broken out in. His fierce little partner stepped forward, waving his little fist at their adversary. "If you think we're _playing_ , then this is some sick game, buddy! We're the reinforcements; now let our friends go!"

"Terriermon!" Henry hissed, but the damage was already done. Puppetmon's joints twitched with an eerie creaking sound.

" _Friends_?" he repeated in an odd tone. Then he recovered with a vengeance. "Reinforcements are against the rules!" He got to his feet menacingly, as if he was not already towering over them. "So let's play a new game—if you can get through my maze before the time runs out, I'll let you stay here and help him build this bridge."

"Hey, wait!" Terriermon called, but Puppetmon had already pulled out an oversized hourglass and set it down on the bridge, the sand already spilling through to the bottom section. Puppetmon himself leapt away into the darkness before Henry could ask him any of the dozens of questions running through his mind… until he took a mental step back and reminded himself that the rules to this new 'game' didn't matter anyway. They were fighting for a spot next to Joe in his endless bricklaying. What they really needed was to find some way to defeat Puppetmon altogether and escape his grasp. And frankly, that's where the plan ended, because Henry had no idea how they were going to do _that_.

"Who was _that_?" Joe asked at last.

"You've never seen him before? He wasn't keeping you imprisoned here?" Henry asked.

"No… When Gomamon and I made it down to the Dark Ocean, the bridge was already started. The next step seemed pretty clear."

"Well, we believe Puppetmon's been undoing all your hard work. And something about this place has been messing with your head so you didn't notice."

He really hated to watch Joe's face fall. He had to avert his eyes when the older boy brought a hand up to his lengthened hair, trying to gauge just how much time had passed. Henry considered breaking that news to him… but they had more pressing concerns right now.

"Well, anyway, we should focus on this maze he talked about first."

Gomamon gave them a look. "I know you guys haven't been here very long, but this whole place is a maze!"

Henry held up his Digivice. "I don't doubt it, but we have it on pretty good authority that these have the power to guide us from one side to the other. I can't promise we'll end up back in the real world, but I'd rather be stuck in the Digital World than the Dark Ocean. Besides, I've got a few friends on both sides. We'll have a better chance of getting everyone back if we're together to start with."

Joe nodded. "I know you're right… I did feel bad when we all started going our separate ways. I just got so focused on fixing the connection between the worlds that I lost track of everything else."

"Well, great. Then let's stop standing around and yapping and get out of here!"

With small, tentative smiles and Terriermon at their helm, the group started forward. Clear, concrete walls began to form out of the fog around them, giving the place a more institutional feel. The further they went, the more surveillance cameras Henry spotted hanging from the ceiling. It didn't seem like much of a maze so far, but it was clear that Puppetmon was watching their progress.

His dread returned full-force with the fog. Their jailer was vamping up to something, for sure.

It happened so quickly. A second later the fog was gone, and the concrete all around them had turned to wood. Within the space of another second, more walls had slammed down from the ceiling, separating the two pairs. Terriermon and Henry both let out exclamations of surprise, but if the other two were shouting back, no sound could penetrate these new walls. And with their path narrowed, there was literally only the way forward, without anything to investigate further.

Henry could immediately see the shift in his partner. Terriermon took this as a challenge and rushed forward before Henry could stop him.

"Wait!" he called anyway, knowing it was kind of pointless. Indeed, Terriermon didn't stop, only calling back, "The others could be in danger, Henry! We don't have time to stand around overthinking things!"

He sighed exasperatedly as he ran after him. How typical. After all his detective work, trying to puzzle this mystery out with logic, they'd walked right into some chaotic manipulation game. He couldn't help flashing back to their enemy's status as a Mega. Didn't Terriermon understand how in over their heads they were now?

This first tunnel opened up to a much bigger room, and its components gave them both pause. It felt almost like a cave… There were still cameras pointed in every direction, but combined with multiple levels of further tunnels and staircases leading up to them. And yet the entire place was still crafted from wood. It reminded him oddly of the parking garage—as if he needed any more reminders—only a lot more fragile.

Terriermon turned back to him, a familiar fire in his eyes. "This is ridiculous! We can't play his game, Henry. We need to draw him out."

The little Digimon eyed the cameras all around them, and Henry knew immediately what he was thinking. "No."

Terriermon huffed. "Well, what do _you_ propose then?" His voice had gotten thin and a bit haughty, his enunciation just a little too strict. It would be a more annoying anger habit… if Henry didn't know exactly where he'd picked it up.

He worked not to let his own voice fall into the same patterns. "Don't be like that. Why can't you stop and think for a minute?"

"Why can't _you_ trust me?" Terriermon shot back, and Henry froze as something more vulnerable took root in his partner's eyes. "It was one mistake, Henry. You don't have to always do everything on your own."

There were no more arguments to be had. He knew his partner was right. From day one he'd been hesitant to work with any of the other kids caught up in this mess, afraid to take on any more responsibilities when his own flaws were showing through. He kept Takato close, but encouraged him to stay out of danger. He took what he could from Kari, Davis, and Cody, but went off on his own as soon as he'd ironed out a plan. But they were supposed to be a team, and Terriermon was his _partner_ , created specially for him, if that part of the 'legend' still held true. So finally he gave in and pulled out his Digivice. "Okay."

The light enveloped the little Digimon at once, as if it had only been waiting for an invitation. Henry tried to keep his apprehension at bay as he watched the transformation take over his friend for the second time, leaving Gargomon standing in his place. They locked eyes once before the Champion started shooting. One by one, the cameras went down, until Gargomon came to stop in front of him, his attacks ceasing as well. The last time his bullets had started, he'd been unable to stop until he'd run out of energy completely. Henry didn't realize how tense he'd been until his shoulders relaxed.

They snapped back to attention at the sound of footsteps rushing their way, prepared for guards or something. But it was Joe and Gomamon who came careening out of one of the tunnels opposite them, drawn by the sounds of the destruction. "What happened?! Is everyone okay?!"

They didn't get a chance to answer him before on unfortunately familiar figure dropped down and wrapped a wooden arm around Joe's neck. When Gomamon lunged for him in a panic, thick red threads bound him up, leaving him in a heap on the floor. Gargomon turned one of his cannons on Puppetmon, but Henry darted forward to put a restraining hand on his arm. "No, don't!"

"Let him go, you bully!" Gargomon commanded but made no further moves.

"Bully?" Puppetmon repeated darkly. "All you had to do was play along… but you've broken your last rule!"

"Let's not do anything drastic!" Joe cut in suddenly, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. "It was me you wanted, right? Fine. Let Henry and Terriermon go, and I'll stay here as long as you want."

"It's too late now!" Puppetmon replied, but he seemed agitated as well. "You couldn't just let things be… The Emperor gave me a place to belong. All I had to do was watch over one of the Digidestined and keep the crest of Reliability contained. But then everything started going wrong… New kids started interfering and reactivating the crests. Why couldn't you have just left us alone?!"

Once again, Henry was struck by how childlike this monster seemed, but there was nothing reassuring about it. He'd seen enough of Suzi's tantrums to know he could snap at a moment's notice. But how to defuse the situation?

Joe seemed to deflate at this news, but he didn't stay down for long. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I never really did live up to the crest of 'reliability,' did I?" Gomamon protested loudly from where he was still tied up, but they couldn't make out any words. "Well, maybe it just wasn't to be. Henry, if passing on my crest is the way to keep my friends safe, then you can have it. Maybe that's part of being reliable too. Knowing when to delegate, when something is out of your power, so you can keep up with the things that _are_ under your control."

"Stop your blabbering!" Puppetmon shrieked, turning back to the other two. "No more warnings! You had your chance to play by the rules. Now get ready to face the consequences!"

With one sudden movement, Puppetmon released his hold on Joe, sending him to the ground, and pulled out a giant hammer. Henry didn't even notice the little holes facing them until the spray of bullets came flying their way. Gargomon brought up his own guns to counter and quickly found himself outmatched, as Henry had feared.

There was another muffled shout from Gomamon and a barrage of rainbow fish appeared seemingly out of thin air and flew up to cover them. For once, Henry asked no questions. He and Gargomon just scrambled out of the way. The fish were no match for Puppetmon, of course, being blown to pieces immediately, but it gave them enough cover to duck into one of the adjacent tunnels, where at least they'd be harder targets to hit.

Puppetmon cut off his attack and jumped back to get into a better position. Joe recovered from his fall just at the right moment. He got to his feet and pulled something out from under his shirt, yanking it off the chain around his neck with a startling burst of strength. And then, arcing his arm back before their attacker could react, he threw the tiny item their way, shouting, "Henry!"

He darted out of the tunnel just in time to catch Joe's crest—and recognize it for what it was—before Gargomon yanked him back. There was a single moment when his mind blanked—now that he had it, what was he supposed to do with it? But before his eyes, the little square lit up, growing brighter and brighter until he couldn't even make out the little cross etched onto it. In tandem, his partner beside him began to glow as well, bursting out from the cover of the tunnel before he could outgrow it.

Time seemed to stop as his partner reached his Ultimate form for the first time. He watched Gargomon's stature grow even taller, a sheen of armor remaining when the light faded back down. Indeed, everything from those familiar ears to his toes was now made of metal. A peek at his Digivice revealed this to be Rapidmon.

The Digimon raised one of his new guns, still getting used to this new form, but Puppetmon didn't seem fazed. With a sinking feeling, Henry realized they were still outmatched. An Ultimate versus a Mega? Digimon were based on computer data and cold, hard numbers. And as long as Puppetmon had taken next to no damage, there was no way those numbers would stack up in their favor. They would need a miracle.

And, before the despair could completely overtake him, they got one.

Just seconds after Rapidmon's Digivolution was complete, the crest of Reliability began shining again. The beam of light that shot out from it flew right to Joe where he was now crouched over his captive partner. An imprint of the Reliability symbol lit up Joe's chest just in time for the beam of light to ricochet off… and head straight for Puppetmon.

It all happened too quickly for the Mega to counter. The light from the crest connected and spread to fill every crack and joint of the puppet's body. They were all frozen until the scream of agony started up, and it sank in that their foe was being weakened.

He had contorted into a position that left him wide open. Seeing his opportunity, Rapidmon launched himself up and shot a single blast at the monster. It connected as well… and reacted as if it had hit a ball of pure energy, exploding back out in the most horrifying fireworks display Henry had ever seen.

Henry remembered to breathe when the blast began to die down… and he saw Terriermon plummeting to the ground. He sprinted forward and caught his friend just in time, ending up on his knees. He ducked over protectively when something slammed to the ground just inches away. He caught sight of a mostly intact, dismembered wooden arm just before it dissolved into ones and zeroes.

He only uncurled to take a better look at his partner when things finally quieted down. His heart caught for a second when he saw how beat up he looked. But Terriermon stirred a second later, and he sounded dazed but not grievously injured. "Henry… Did you _see_ that?"

Henry choked out a laugh, tears of relief or stress or maybe just plain or hysteria pricking at his eyes. "I did. You were awesome."

"I _know_." Terriermon faded back into unconsciousness and Henry held him closer, letting his friend have his well-earned rest.

At last, Joe broke the silence with an awed, "What _was_ that?"

He'd finally gotten Gomamon's mouth freed and now he added, "You guys didn't start feeling all prickly when it happened? Well, I guess you wouldn't; you're humans. It felt to _me_ like someone was hacking into the system around here. Probably through your crest if I could feel it."

This gave Joe pause for a moment. When the realization dawned on him, Henry could see it on his face. "Izzy… Maybe the others are okay after all."

"Which crest was Izzy's?" Henry asked.

"Knowledge."

He smiled to himself. While he'd never met Yolei, he was sure the crest of Knowledge would have sought out Cody the same way Reliability had connected to him. He didn't get an opportunity to share this, though, before both Digivices lit up again, beams of light shooting out and targeting one of the tunnels. Slowly, the two boys got to their feet, holding their respective partners in their arms.

"You said the Digivices have the power to guide us through the Dark Ocean, right?" Joe asked tentatively.

Henry nodded. As one they moved forward, following the thin beam of light through more twists and turns than either could count. At last, there were no more turns to take and they were faced with a single door at the end of a hallway.

The two boys only paused for a second before moving forward again. They shot through the doorway, as if expecting to find another enemy awaiting them… but found themselves coming out of a rather ordinary looking house and into a rather ordinary seeming forest.

But Henry was starting to think nothing in his life would ever be ordinary again.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Well. That was a journey. It was really important to me that Joe play an active role in his recovery, in order to get across the message I was going for: that half of reliability is knowing when to rely on others too. If I have any lasting insecurities at the end of this chapter, it's that it feels like it probably wasn't… funny enough. Terriermon and Gomamon are both very jokey characters, and Puppetmon is meant to have this fun, childlike air about him too… And I kind of just took that in the other direction and tried to make everything super creepy. I just don't seem able to write Digimon in a way that comes across as fun and whimsical. ^^' I start writing and all I can think about is how terrifying all this would be in real life. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you thought!**


	23. Initiative

**Well. Missed that deadline again. Is it just me or does the month just pass by so fast? There have been some big life changes for me lately… I got a second job that I'm still adjusting to. Some days I'm not scheduled at either one, some days I work 8-2 at one and then 3-11 at the other… Yay, adulting. It's just something to get used to. I'm still working on finding some sort of consistent block of free time that I can dedicate to fanfiction... I just like to keep you guys in the loop. But enough about real life.**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter twenty-two:** Lord Jaric, ReaperOfShadows125, Fruitloop Trooper, Sweet Cari, Berry Doyle, Miqila, **and** dnofsunshine!

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: Initiative**

There wasn't much that shook Davis. But the sight of the Nonaka home gave him pause. He imagined that when he heard his sister or Yolei fantasizing about wooing and marrying some rich stranger, it was property like this they were hoping to acquire.

It was certainly a step up from his family's apartment, he couldn't help reflecting as he let himself in through the unlocked garden gate. The yard was even bigger than he'd first thought and impeccably manicured. He spotted a small stone bridge crossing what must be a man-made (and carefully crafted) brook snaking its way through their yard. As he got closer to the house, he spotted an older woman standing by the pond.

She was watching a dragonfly flitting over the water's surface, a serene smile on her face. The woman only looked up as the sound of Davis's footsteps drew nearer. He saw her blink in surprise.

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry; I must not have heard the door. I sent the housekeeper home early. Can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm looking for Rika?"

He saw the woman's eyes light up. "Ah. My granddaughter. She's always been a bit of a loner. It's nice to see a friend of hers come around. I'm afraid she's out at the moment, though—"

No sooner had she said this, before Davis even had the chance to get disappointed, another voice reached their ears, ringing out from within the house. "Grandma? I'm home."

The girl who stepped out onto the porch a moment later fit Kari's description… with one exception. Her guard was down. The expression on Rika's face as her grandmother stepped up onto the porch to hug her was actually quite soft. But she stiffened up at her grandmother's next words.

"Welcome home. What perfect timing. A friend of yours just arrived." The older woman stepped back. "I'll give you two some privacy."

It was as her grandmother was retreating back into the house that Rika finally spotted him standing in the yard. Immediately, her face hardened, and her cold expression was just as chilling as Kari had described. She jumped down from the porch in one aggressive motion and strode towards him, completely disregarding the carefully-laid cobblestones weaving a path through their garden.

"Who are you?" she demanded once they were close enough that she didn't have to raise her voice and worry about bringing her grandmother running.

And he had to admit, she did enforce a domineering atmosphere on the situation. He was a little taken aback for a moment, and Henry or Cody might have backed down completely, but Davis recovered quickly. "Rika, right? I'm Davis. I heard about you from Kari and Takato—"

"Oh, god, another one," she groaned. She started to turn away dismissively before her anger resurged. "Who do you think you are, showing up at my _house_? I'm not interested in working with you and whoever your loser partner is, okay? It may technically be _our_ job, but Renamon and I are doing just fine on our own."

"I'm thinking about the bigger picture," Davis cut in before she could stalk off and leave him standing there. "Not just partners and Digidestined—or, Tamers. We're a team now. There's a lot going on, Rika. I think you should be a part of it."

"What is going to make you people understand? I am not interested."

Davis pushed ahead. "I know about your mission. Henry told us about the Digimon crossing over into our world. And I've met Takato, okay? I believe that you've done most of the work." Davis knew when he was up against a tough opponent. His serious side was not one that made a frequent appearance, but he wasn't backing down here. And knew he was faced with a girl who already didn't take him seriously. "There's so much more going on here. Just… take a minute to listen."

Rika stared him down for another minute. There were no outward clues that he'd won her over. When she answered, it was steely and controlled. "This is how it's going to work. We're going to go inside where you will play nice with my grandmother for a while. Then we can talk business. You _will_ be gone before my mother gets home. And if anyone asks, you're the brother of a sick classmate, here to copy some notes. We are _not_ friends. Got it?"

 **…**

"So that's where we are now," Kari finished.

"Wow…" Takato seemed almost starstruck. She'd tried to avoid the lunch rush today, but he'd still been behind the front counter when she'd arrived. He'd jumped at the sight of her, made a few hurried excuses… But she'd bought a pastry to smooth things over with his parents. (His mother had given her a wink and a smile and seemed all too happy to let Takato slip out the back door with the day-old bread at that particular moment.)

Now they were camped out in the alley once more. Guilmon was digging through the box of stale bread behind them while Gatomon gave him a wide berth, crinkling her nose at his behavior.

"So Cody's in the Digital World too… Things are really moving fast." Takato paused for a moment. Kari was about to move on when he spoke again. "Hey, has anyone heard from Henry?"

She blinked, thrown off track. "Henry? Uh, no, I don't think so. Davis was going to go talk to Rika today. Henry said he was going to follow up on the research Cody was doing, but I'm not sure what that entails, exactly."

"Huh. It's just… I tried calling him earlier, and his sister said no one's seen him all day. That he must have gone out before anyone got up this morning."

Kari could see Takato biting the inside of his lip. This news might not have been enough to give her pause in another situation, but given how many of her friends had gone missing lately… She locked eyes with Gatomon, and a silent understanding passed between them.

She'd snuck back into her apartment late the previous night, trying to avoid her parents. But it had been a rough slumber. And with the dawn, the pressure weighing her down had only multiplied. Yolei's parents' patience was about to run out, and she suspected Cody's mother wouldn't be far behind. There was only so long that she could put things off under the pretense of reconnaissance. Something needed to be done.

"I think… we've accomplished all that we can from this side of things," she said slowly. The decision didn't send the chill through her veins that she'd kind of been expecting. It was true that she was still scared, but slowly but surely, that fear was being overridden by the overwhelming need to do something.

"So that means you're… going back?" Takato jumped a second later when Guilmon, having finished everything in the box, came up and started licking some of the residual glaze from his partner's fingers. "Oh, Guilmon! Gross…"

Kari had to stifle a giggle. Sometimes Guilmon really was more like a pet or a child than an equal partner. And Gatomon may not have been impressed, but Kari thought that could be good for Takato, in some ways. But as it turned out, Takato's partner wasn't quite as out of the loop as she'd thought.

"What about us, Takatomon?"

"Uh, what?" Takato blinked down at him blankly.

Guilmon blinked back. "I want to help your friends too."

Takato seemed to freeze for a second, looking into his partner's eyes. Kari saw his hand clench into a fist decisively. And when he looked back at her, there was a firmness to his expression that she'd never seen from him before.

"I do want to help," he confirmed, quiet but steady. "I know I haven't exactly been pulling my weight. When Guilmon first showed up, it was like a game… And then the stakes kept getting higher and higher. But I _am_ a Tamer, and I want to do my part. Especially now that Henry's wrapped up in all this too. If you'll have me along, I'm ready."

Kari smiled at him, trying to let her genuineness shine through, as Gatomon came to stand beside her for solidarity. Her partner certainly looked ready to charge headfirst into this war. "Takato, I feel like you're under the impression that the rest of us actually know what we're doing. We don't, really. We're all scared. But there's this evil that only we can face, and just remember, you're never really alone."

Takato smiled down at Guilmon once more. More confidently this time, he said, "I know. I'm ready."

 **…**

The final floor of the Digimon Emperor's lair was almost completely empty. The floor and ceiling were the same dark tile as the rest of the hideout—the floors devoted to his personal research at least. (The prison blocks had been all cold steel and hard stone.) Computer screens and keyboards lined the three walls facing the staircase. Though unmanned, they were all aglow with activity, and they provided a dim light to the rest of the room.

And TK might have been curious, under other circumstances. He couldn't tell what data the Emperor was tracking, but the scene before him commanded his full attention. In the center of the room, a cylindrical glass case stood from floor to ceiling. A strange, shadowy substance wafted upwards—seeming to phase _through_ the subject inside. TK figured it was pure darkness, and he wasn't surprised, given what was inside.

He felt Patamon shudder—or maybe it was his own shudder traveling through his partner. They were both all too familiar with the dark figure inside.

"Devimon," Patamon whispered. "I thought we'd seen the last of him… Or _hoped_ , I should say."

TK slowly circled the case, still waiting for his initial chill to subside. He couldn't help thinking that the Digimon before them looked… smaller than he remembered. Somehow, that didn't make him any less threatening. Finally, he managed, "How is this even possible? After you two… fought… His data should have been too corrupted to reform."

"Maybe the Emperor pieced him back together manually," Patamon posited. TK didn't answer. They both kept their eyes locked on the being before them. He appeared whole and awake… but was motionless. There was no sign of life or recognition in his eyes. Patamon shuddered again. "Or maybe he just… _regrew_. I'd believe it. What is the Emperor doing down here, _harvesting_ darkness?"

TK shook his head slowly, finally tearing his eyes away. "It's so… cold down here." He didn't have to explain to his partner that he didn't mean physically.

"You know, it's almost familiar," Patamon commented as TK moved slowly around the room, his fingers ghosting over the keyboards, though he made sure not to press any buttons.

He stopped abruptly, however, as Patamon's words sunk in. "You're right. I _do_ recognize it. It feels like the Dark Ocean down here."

They both looked around, as if they might have suddenly developed the ability to see through the walls. Did the Digimon Emperor's lair extend all the way down into the Dark Ocean? Somehow, that wouldn't surprise him either.

 **…**

The conversation with Takato's parents went… reasonably well. The Matsukis were simple, ordinary people. Logical. Everything they'd achieved in life had been through their own hard work. There was no easy way to tell people like that that monsters were real.

But they'd seemed to understand the seriousness of his request immediately when their son returned inside with his new friend and asked that they shut down the shop for a while. Guilmon and Gatomon had made an appearance shortly into the next conversation, just as Takato's mother had looked ready to shut down what must surely be a joke. They were actually rather lucky her scream had not brought any of their neighbors running, but Mr. Matsuki had been there to steady her. Takato's father had paled… but admitted to suspicions that his son was hiding something. (Though he'd been expecting a more traditional pet.)

They'd done their best to explain the situation. The missing kids, both past and present. This other world that Kari had seen with her own eyes. And their plan to set things right. (Though they may have glossed over the nonexistence of some of those finer details.)

At the end of it all, Takato's parents had appeared shaken but resigned. She'd watched them embrace their son, agree on a cover story. When Takato ran upstairs to pack a bag, his mother took one of Kari's hands in both of hers.

Kari felt a stab of guilt at the barely-concealed desperation in her eyes. She had to remind herself that, technically, Takato had been involved before the two of them had even met. The woman's voice was barely a whisper. "Just promise me you'll bring my boy home."

"I will." Kari maintained eye contact the whole time. And this time, she finally felt the confidence behind her words. She _would_ make sure Takato made it back home. She was going to bring everyone's children home.

Takato rushed back down the stairs a second later, and the moment was broken. Kari locked eyes with her team mate… and hoped they at least _looked_ like they were capable of the task ahead of them.

Now, they stood before the door to her apartment. She had to give Takato credit. He'd handled the conversation with his own parents well. She'd really only been there to offer moral support. Now it was her turn to 'shine,' and she could only hope it went half as well.

Takato was eying her worriedly. They'd been out in the hall long enough to make things awkward. She nodded decisively and turned to him before opening the door. "Just… hang back, okay? I basically already told them I know where all the missing kids are the last time I was home and… things are just a little tense right now."

Takato nodded back and waited obediently in the entryway after she let them in. Her parents were both home, further in. They were seated on the couch, the TV and radio both off, already deep in hushed conversation. They rose to their feet immediately when she walked in.

"Kari," her mother all but exclaimed. There was newfound steel in her as well, though. "We need to talk."

She'd been caught off guard the first time, but now she was ready. "I know."

Her parents seemed a little taken aback at her directness, but they were all about as composed as possible when they sat down.

Her father cleared his throat and started in. "Kari… You've been acting strangely lately. Your mother and I are worried."

She was sure he had a whole speech planned to get her to open up. She cleared her own throat, albeit more softly so as not to be rude. Her dad gladly gave her the floor, and she clasped her hands together before her.

"I'm sorry that I worried you. That was never my intention. It's kind of a long story. I just ask that you hear me out, okay?"

Slowly, they both nodded, so she continued.

"Around the end of the last school semester… right before TK transferred in… my friends and I started looking into Tai's disappearance ourselves—the whole mystery, actually. I know this is going to sound a little weird, but it led back to this game designer and his work with artificial intelligence. When he was in college, he and a bunch of his friends made a fully-functioning AI. They had to abandon the project because of money problems, but it continued to grow without them."

Her parents exchanged a look. Her mother responded with, "I don't follow."

"Yeah…" she muttered, taking a deep breath. Here came the hard part. "They created a whole Digital World, dictated by the story they'd programmed for the game. Which was basically… that a group of human children got sucked in and had to team up with these monster partners to save the world. That's what happened to Tai and the others. The AI broke through the barrier between our worlds that night and… basically kidnapped the kids who disappeared. And—except for TK, who's been going back and forth—they've been stuck in that world ever since."

Her parents gave her the speechless, bewildered expressions she'd been expecting. She had to resist holding her breath or closing her eyes in preparation for their response. It didn't disappoint.

Her mother broke out of her frozen state first. She ducked her head, running her hands through her already messy hair. When she looked back up, her eyes were red and filled with more anger than Kari had ever seen directed at her. "Is this… a _joke_ to you?"

There was danger in that tone, without a doubt. It was a very distinctive _mom_ tone that Kari could honestly say she'd never been on the receiving end of before. But what hurt most of all was the mere accusation—that either of her parents could believe that she would mock their tragedy in such a way.

A commotion near the front door saved her from having to find an answer. Her parents jumped at Takato's hushed, "Guilmon, wait!"

But he wasn't able to get a grip on his partner before the red dinosaur nosed his way towards the living room, replying, "But, Takatomon, what's taking so long?"

Both of her parents let out shrieks to rival Mrs. Matsuki's, her mother pulling her legs up onto the couch, her father freezing. Kari jumped to her feet as Takato and Gatomon rushed in after him. Kari quickly pulled the cat into her arms, trying to make her partner look like slightly less of a warrior. With… questionable results.

"Uh, Mom, Dad… This is my friend Takato. And these are Gatomon and Guilmon, our Digimon partners."

Her parents' eyes swung back and forth from one to the other, still unable to form words. She sat back down with Gatomon on her lap, Takato coming to stand awkwardly beside her chair. …Until Guilmon's curious sniffing around knocked over a picture frame, and her dove to save it, finally wrestling Guilmon over to his side where he couldn't do any more damage. Another small sound choked its way out of Mrs. Kamiya's throat as Guilmon waved his claws in their direction, and Takato smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly… I know how crazy it sounds. But it's all real. I've been to this other world. TK, Yolei, and Cody are there right now. Along with another friend of ours, Henry. The program recruited us as… backup, basically. It's our job to set things right with the original kids. Once we've completed the story, we can all return home." She paused, swallowed. But her parents hadn't found their words yet, so she continued. "I blew TK off the first time. I didn't want to put you two through anything else. But now I have an opportunity to help Tai and bring him home. It's about time someone did."

There was silence for a long moment. Kari could see the unbelievable truth sinking in. At last her mother whispered, "I just don't understand why it has to be you."

The lack of backlash sent a jittery feeling through their daughter. Like they'd accepted this was a losing battle. She rushed to soften that blow however she could.

"It won't be _just_ me. I'll have all my friends by my side. And we're more prepared than the first group was. Everything is going to be all right."

Her parents finally unfroze as she got up to hug them. The trio clung to each other for as long as Kari could allow the moment to last. And then she went to pack her own bag for the journey ahead.

 **…**

Davis did as Rika asked and played along. It wasn't too hard. Well, normally, he probably would have put his foot in his mouth by now—he knew it. But the inside of the Nonaka house was just as impressive as the outside, and Rika's grandmother was already fond of him.

It felt like no time at all before the abrasive girl was prodding him roughly down the hall and locked them both away in her room. It was… sparse. He wasn't that surprised, actually. Rika didn't strike him as the type of girl to decorate her personal space with flashy trinkets and posters. But there was a map of the city spread out over the low table and her own computer set up in the corner. But most notably, he spotted a tall, bipedal fox Digimon watching from the shadows.

Davis's eyes lit up at the sight of Renamon, and he immediately headed over to get a closer look. "Oh, cool! You're Rika's partner, right? I'm Davis."

Renamon eyes him stoically for a moment before extending a hand. "Pleasure."

"Don't humor him, Renamon," Rika sighed, going over and starting up her computer. She shot over her shoulder, "Where's _your_ partner anyway?"

"Oh, I don't have one yet," he replied, unconcerned.

"Great," she muttered. "Some team mate _you're_ turning out to be…"

Davis shrugged. "Whatever. I'll just have to get to the Digital World and _find_ myself a partner."

Rika scoffed. "Yeah, good luck with that. You have to be _chosen_. Now stop gawking and come over here."

She moved so he could see the program open on her screen. He saw… what looked like some sort of funnel or mountain, made from bits of data, rotating slowly in place. It was cool at first, but he quickly lost interest, eyes scanning the screen for some other sign of action. "Uh… I'm not a real tech-y person."

"Yeah, no surprise there." (He was already getting used to brushing off her barbs. Somehow he knew that, unlike Yolei, Rika wasn't someone he wanted to poke back at.) She pulled out her own Digivice—with blue accents where Kari's had been pink—and said, "One day, this device materialized out of my computer and left this program in its place. When I opened it up, they both started to glow. This is like… its resting state. When it's active, the whole thing opens up, and it's like looking through to another world. Literally, I guess. The first time I opened it, there was a girl waiting for me on the other end."

"A girl?"

"That's what I said. She's the one who told me all about the Digital World and how Digimon were starting to break through the barrier to this side of things. She told me to hold my Digivice up to the screen so my partner would be able to find their way to me… And she did."

"Yeah, but wait. This girl—was it Yolei?"

"I didn't ask for her name. She gave me my mission, and then she was gone."

"Okay, but what did she look like? Big glasses, pink hair, really annoying?"

"No."

Davis gestured for her to move aside and she did, albeit grudgingly, and he opened the internet. In a few seconds, he had an old article about the missing kids pulled up and scrolled down so she could see the pictures. "How about now? Was it one of these girls?"

"Yeah." Rika sounded surprised. Her voice had slowly lost its edge as the conversation went on. She pointed to one of the pictures and read the name underneath. "Sora Takenouchi… That's her. What is this?"

"This is what I was trying to tell you. It's so much bigger than a few Digimon showing up in the city." He quickly ran through the story. It wasn't exactly linear, and he knew he was probably forgetting a few details, but Rika seemed to be keeping up just fine. "So you're saying you've been in touch with Sora for a while?"

"Sort of. She's not there every time." A more perceptive boy than Davis might have noticed that Rika was hedging and had started to look uncomfortable. But, luckily for her, he had a pretty one-track mind.

Davis had already gone to bring the mysterious program back up… but paused when he caught sight of its title in the tab. "Gennai… I know that name."

"What do you mean?"

"Gennai—Kari said he was supposed to be, like, some sort of guardian to the original Digidestined. Like a guide or something."

Rika seemed unconcerned. "So maybe he's _guiding_ her. What's so strange about that?"

Davis shrugged. "I don't know… It didn't sound like he was ever all that helpful… It's just weird."

Rika still looked impressed. "Whatever. _I_ never saw this Gennai guy."

"Well… here." He pulled the tab back up. "Open it up again. Maybe we'll see him. Or maybe we'll see Sora and finally get some real answers."

He'd piqued her curiosity at least. She didn't try to protest or make a big show of it as she brought her Digivice up to the screen. Just as she'd said, both began to glow… but they were not treated to a view of another person or place.

"Renamon," Rika called after a moment, finally starting to sound unnerved.

Her partner was already at her side. "Rika. The energy output is too high. Something's wrong."

"I _know_ ," she ground out through her teeth, the first signs of fear flashing in her eyes. She let out another sound of effort and frustration, and Davis realized she was trying to tear her arm away from the screen. The lights had connected and were acting like magnets. He went to grab her arm, help her pull away, but as soon as his skin met hers, the light rose to a blinding peak, and they both froze.

When it died down a second later, they both took a few shaky steps backwards, relieved to be free to do so. Renamon was there to place a steadying hand on her partner's back. Davis found he had something else to ground him.

The hand he'd placed on Rika still shook ever so slightly. The one by his side was gripping something that hadn't been there before. He looked down to see an orange-plated Digivice in his own hand, and the thrill of excitement this prompted washed away everything else. He held it up triumphantly and crowed, "Ha! See! I told you so!"

Rika stared, muttering, "You've got to be kidding me…"

"He _did_ tell you so…" She shot Renamon a glare for her amused tone.

But Davis wasn't done celebrating yet. In his excitement, he shoved his own Digivice at the screen where the program was still facing them. Rika's cautionary shout got lost in the next light that swallowed them up.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **And finally, Rika's here. To actually do something, not just show up to prove she exists. (Takato too, for that matter.) ^^' It feels like we've come so far… I almost forget myself how much further there still is to go. I still don't have a good gauge for how many chapters this story will have.**


	24. Arrival

**This was one of those chapters that made me wonder what you all think of the pacing. I think I mentioned in my author's note a few chapters ago that I'd gone back and reread what I had up to this point and found that it actually flowed better than I'd thought while writing it. In case it was not clear from the last chapter, the kids will all (finally) be in place in the Digital World by the end of this one. It might just be a numbers thing. I definitely didn't think that milestone would take 24 chapters when I first set out on this journey. But I also knew Kari would return home after her first visit, and I didn't want that step to feel pointless either. I wanted her to actually accomplish something before going back, and I think I can say that at least. Anyway…**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter twenty-three:** Fruitloop Trooper, MatarasBloodKnight, Sweet Cari, **and** TaitanoRules555 **!**

 **Chapter Twenty-Four: Arrival**

There was not actually much she wanted to take with her, Kari realized, taking one last look around her room. Like Takato, she'd only packed a small bag: a change of clothes, two water bottles, a handful of non-perishable snacks, and her Digivice, of course. At the last second, she grabbed her old whistle off her desk and slipped it over her head. She used to wear it everywhere. She'd had it the night this had all started. It only felt right to have it with her now.

When she emerged from her room, her parents were still huddled together on the couch. Her mother had her head in her hands. The sight made her insides clench. Takato, standing awkwardly behind his chair, glanced at her worriedly.

Kari turned abruptly into the kitchen and grabbed the pen and notepad from the counter. She jotted down a few things as legibly as possible and returned to crouch down in front of her parents.

She met her mother's weary eyes. "I'm sorry. I really do wish I didn't have to do this to you. I remember how awful it was, sitting around, not knowing what to do—or if there's anything you even _can_ do—to help. I've written down a few names and addresses. Hiroaki Ishida knows almost the whole story. Maybe all of you could get together again, calm down some of the other parents who are new to this mess."

She knew her words bordered on ridiculous and insensitive, but she meant well. And she hoped her parents were able to derive at least a little comfort from having something to do—maybe even her own show of confidence. She stood back up and nodded to Takato. They began to make their exit, her parents still quiet and resigned, but she turned back about a foot from the door with one more last-second thought. "If it's not too much trouble, maybe you all could find a way to get in touch with the Ichijoujis as well? Their older son died that first night Tai and the others went missing, and now their younger son has disappeared… Cody's grandfather had some information too, and we believe Ken is in the Digital World too."

She paused, taking one last, long look at her beleaguered parents. "I'm sorry. I love you."

The front door shutting behind her had never sounded so loud.

 **…**

Rika hated to admit it, but she kept her eyes shut tight throughout the whole journey. She thought she'd thickened her skin against the chill of danger in the weeks since she'd met Renamon and they'd begun their fight to keep those rogue Digimon out of her world. But all her muscles had frozen upon being sucked into that light.

It had been the strangest sensation. Like she was being turned inside out, as much of a cliché as that sounded. She only unfroze and opened her eyes again when she could feel solid ground beneath her again. (And was a little embarrassed to note that Renamon was still crouched over her protectively.)

She immediately got to her feet, forcing Renamon to back away, but her partner didn't miss a beat. (And more notably, she didn't make the mistake of trying to ask Rika if she was okay.) She spotted Davis a few feet away. He looked dazed too—like he was also just coming back to himself. Or maybe it was just the presence of his brand-new Digivice still clutched tight in his hand. He didn't notice when she sighed aloud. She was going to have to start rethinking what exactly it meant to be _Chosen_.

She turned her eyes to their surroundings instead and found that the cold stone she'd been pressed up against—what she'd thought was some sort of cave—was actually carefully-lain beige bricks. If it had been smaller, she would have assumed they were in some sort of fancy cellar. But the corridor stretched on in both directions farther than she could see.

Rika pulled out her own Digivice and scrutinized the screen. In her own world, she'd gotten used to searching out the red dots, indicating a foreign Digital presence that needed to be eliminated. Now, the only dot on-screen was a white one, but it pulsed brightly in the dim lighting, and she wasn't exactly in the habit of ignoring the things that demanded her attention.

She met Renamon's eyes, and they started immediately in the direction of that dot. They were only a few feet away before Renamon cleared her throat—the softest of prompts, really—and Rika sighed, turning back to the awestruck boy she'd almost left behind.

"Well?" she called, and he jumped at her voice. "Are you coming or not?"

 **…**

"So is the plan to just walk _forever_ , or…?"

Henry grinned wryly at his partner, still draped over his shoulders. "I haven't seen _you_ doing any walking?"

Gomamon laughed—a loud, sharp sound—and Terriermon huffed, but Joe just gave a tired smile, and Henry was right there with him. It _did_ feel like they'd been walking forever. He'd never thought of forests as the sort of landscape that could get monotonous, but he'd grown tired of all these plants, no matter how exotic.

None of them had felt the need—or perhaps the _drive_ —to backtrack and try to search Puppetmon's house. Worst case scenario, crossing through that doorway would have spit them back out into the Dark Ocean. And no one had the energy left to stress over that decision.

So they'd plunged into the woods surrounding the house. And now he just had to hope this hadn't been a mistake as well.

"You know," Joe said after another moment of silence, "I hope this doesn't sound rude, but from what you've told me about your friends, I'm kind of glad it's you who found me."

Henry laughed a little. (They'd begun walking up an incline, and he was almost embarrassed to note that it came out sounding a little breathless. He'd blame Terriermon's added weight, privately.) "Sounds like a compliment to me."

"It's just…" (Alright, Joe sounded a little breathless too; it wasn't just him.) "When all this first started—when we were all still together—I was never _not_ stressed, you know? I was the oldest, and there was just this constant pressure to look out for everyone else. I didn't feel like anyone else saw the dangers that I did. Tai was always the first to charge into battle, but it felt like _I_ was the one who always needed to save the day. …I guess we can both see how well _that_ worked out."

Henry shook his head, trying to shake away some of Joe's guilt. "You haven't failed yet. And I know what you mean. I don't know how I became 'the responsible one' in my house, because I'm _not_ the oldest… My mom has always been really big on family. I guess I really took that to heart, whereas Jaarin and Rinchei kind of brushed it off. I get left to look after Suzie more than anyone else… And I've already seen it translate into all this. I didn't want Takato to get involved, because I didn't think he was ready… But then Kari and Davis and Cody showed up, and I realized _I_ didn't really have a grasp on what was going on either."

It was quiet for another moment. They'd given each other brief accounts of their stories, and Henry had to wonder if he'd lost the older boy, throwing all these names at him. But Joe was just mulling over his answer.

"Maybe it needed to happen. I didn't understand what it really meant to be a team before. I thought I was being responsible, trying to shield everyone else from ever getting hurt. But I can see now that I was limiting them too. We all have to be at our best to get through something like this, and that's not possible if you take away their opportunities to grow."

"Well said," Terriermon chimed in.

It was Gomamon's turn to huff indignantly. "All this time I spent trying to get you to loosen up and _he_ waltzes in here and an hour later you're all reformed… That's cold."

Henry felt Terriermon puff up pridefully from his shoulder. His attempt at sounding casual was almost worthy of an eye-roll. "Yeah, Henry tends to have that effect on people."

But Joe just leaned down and scooped Gomamon into his arms. Henry could tell that the other boy's partner was surprised; whatever retort he'd been preparing fizzled out on his lips.

"I know," he said softly. "You were right all along. Mostly. I think I just needed something to shock me into listening."

Gomamon huffed as Joe continued to hold him close. "Hmm. _Mostly_ …" But it was clear he'd been appeased.

Henry couldn't help smiling softly at the other pair. But before anyone else had a chance to comment, the hill, which had steadily been growing steeper, suddenly crested, and they came to an abrupt halt.

They were looking down into a picturesque little valley. Henry spotted a small pond and mountains enclosing its other three sides, but both boys' eyes were drawn immediately to the little cottage at the center of it all. The two-second glance they shared was completely unnecessary. They were already on the same page. There was nowhere to go but forward.

If the hill up had been steep, the climb down was downright treacherous. (And took them almost as long.) They eased themselves over that edge… and slid nearly halfway down almost immediately. They steadied themselves in unison too, hearts racing, fingernails full of dirt. Terriermon's grip on him had tightened, and he could see Gomamon's claws digging into Joe's shoulder.

They started again, practically on hands and knees this time, much more slowly. Both were grateful when their Digimon partners got down to continue the journey themselves. It kept their mouths shut, at least. No one was up for any of their usual prodding quips until they'd reached the bottom, where the ground was stable again. They took a second to glance back at how far they'd come before moving closer.

The cottage only got less flattering the closer they got. It looked like it had been a long time since anyone had cared for the appearance of this place. A layer of grime seemed to coat every inch of the outside.

"Doesn't anyone ever _clean_ these windows?!"

They all jumped at the sound of a girl's voice from the other side of the house. Henry didn't have time to confer with Joe before the older boy had taken off in that direction, eyes wide with what Henry knew was recognition, and he could only run after him.

"Maybe no one lives here," another female voice suggested.

The first girl groaned. "I swear, if we just climbed a _mountain_ for nothing…"

The two boys burst around the corner at that point, and Henry saw a human girl and a plant-like Digimon struggling to peer in through one of the cottage's dirty windows. He still didn't recognize her, but Joe and the girl had frozen at the sight of each other. They unfroze at about the same time, and her shout of "Joe!" was almost drowned out by his "Mimi!"

He couldn't tell which one initiated the embrace, but a second later, the two collided, holding each other close. There were tears and laughter, and the two Digimon partners had rushed forward to hug out their time apart as well.

When they finally broke apart, the two turned to Henry, who Joe introduced a second later. Mimi wiped away a stray tear with a smile. "Ah. More reinforcements. Glad to hear you're on our side, Henry."

"Likewise," he answered. "I think the door is around the other side."

But there was a surprise waiting for them there, too. Once again, voiced reached their ears before they turned the corner.

"Are you sure? This place is pretty out of the way. _I_ didn't hear anything."

"Well, perhaps if you ever looked up from your laptop…"

Mimi and Joe shared a look and took off again almost before Henry could even process what was happening. Standing just outside the open door on the other side of the house was another boy, his red hair sticking up at odd angles, and the red bug Digimon who could only be his partner.

"Izzy!" Mimi and Joe shouted as one, and he jumped, barely having time to take in the sight of his two friends before they'd converged on him as well, and he was swallowed up in the hug.

Henry had to smile, faced with all these happy reunions. This was certainly promising, running into more friends than enemies. Together, their chances of finding the others and getting everyone home were far better than they'd been even just moments ago.

 **…**

"What _is_ this place?" Rika griped as they turned yet another corner into yet another brick corridor that looked exactly the same. She was getting really sick of beige.

"It's like some sort of labyrinth," Renamon commented, not sounding nearly as bothered. "I've heard about places like this in the Digital World, but they were never my domain."

"I think it's cool," said Davis. "Besides, we're still on the right track, right?"

He had his Digivice out in front of him still and had managed to find the screen that sought out targets. He appeared very pleased with himself. It was starting to get on her nerves, honestly. A lot of things about this journey were.

 _I know it'll be hard at first, but it's essential that you learn to work as a team. It has to be more than just a business partnership._

The voice of that girl—who was apparently called Sora—rang through her mind, and she gripped her Digivice a little tighter. _She_ was one to talk, if Davis's information could be trusted. The only reason they were in this mess was because _her_ team had fallen apart.

There was nothing to do but continue on. Gradually, their surroundings stopped being so monotonous. Rika caught sight of strange symbols etched onto the walls, plant life sprouting from the cracks in the floor. And then, very suddenly, they turned one more corner, and the corridor opened up into a wide room. They all crowded through the doorway and stilled for a second.

Rika slowly moved to place a hand on the wall with the big… painting? Mural? Neither felt quite right, and she was briefly rueful for not paying even a little attention to those art appreciation classes her mother had dragged her to in an attempt to make her more cultured. She wasn't sure what sort of 'culture' this place boasted, though. These wall carvings looked pretty primitive. She was just able to decipher what it was even trying to portray.

Nine stick figures, attached to nine Digivices and nine symbols—one of which she recognized as the crest of Love, so she assumed the others were the other crests that she had yet to see. Six of the nine seemed to have eggs emerging from them as well… And there were two other lines, seemingly encircling everything else that she followed to a tenth figure, far off to the right.

But there was something weird about it. (Well, the whole thing was weird, though she was pretty sure it was trying to tell a story similar to the hypothesis Davis and his friends had formed.) Some of these carvings looked like ancient cave art, some like they'd just been etched in yesterday. And some of the crests looked practically worn away.

"I think I know where we are after all," Renamon spoke up from over her shoulder. Rika tried not to flinch too visibly. She'd stopped paying attention to her surroundings.

"Well, where are we then?" Her question had a bit more bite to it than the situation called for, but her partner had long ago grown used to her brusque manner.

"This must be Centarumon's lair. He is known throughout the Digiworld as being a sage of sorts. He stands guard over the various legends this world holds."

"I don't know how much _guarding_ he'd been doing," Rika muttered. "Some of these look like they were just added on."

Renamon cocked her head to the side, gave Rika one of those looks that she hadn't yet learned how to read. "Do legends not grow and change over time in your world?"

She didn't really have an answer to that. But she didn't need one. Davis had moved on to explore deeper into the room. The only thing denoting the move into the next room was a patch of darkness. The cracks (placed almost strategically) throughout the rest of the ceiling kept the rest of the place surprisingly well lit.

"Whoa!" She turned at Davis's exclamation to see a shadowy figure emerging out of that darkness.

"Renamon," she said in alarm.

Her Digimon put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's all right. This is the guardian I spoke of—Centarumon."

The big Digimon stepped a little further out into the light, and she could see that it _was_ a centaur, of sorts. (She couldn't help being a bit wary of that glowing eye peeking out from behind what was surely a war helmet.) When he spoke, his voice was deep and weary. "So the reinforcements have arrived at last… Welcome, children. Someone has been waiting for you."

He stepped aside, and the three filed past him into the next room. It was much like the first room, albeit smaller and without the big picture denoting the legend. But one corner contained a pod of sorts, made entirely of light. Logic told Rika that it couldn't possibly hold any sort of weight—as it clearly wasn't solid—but it was supporting the creature inside just fine.

A small blue Digimon she didn't recognize was slumped over inside, its chin resting on its chest. Its skin looked leathery, a little reptilian. She would have to see some of its later forms to know whether to liken it more to a dinosaur or some lesser lizard.

She glanced back at Centarumon, the sound of hooves echoing around the small space, as he came up to join them. "This one appeared this morning. He must have known you would find him here. He has yet to awaken, however."

Appeared, huh? Rika turned back to scrutinize the odd light-pod. She knew Digimon were crafted from data, but she was pretty sure this wasn't usually how the lifespan began. Though she supposed that bubble in the middle did look a _little_ like an egg… She turned to Davis only to find that his eyes were still locked on the comatose Digimon before them. He was still moving towards it at a snail's pace, as if he was afraid it was going to disappear.

Perhaps the stress of the day was getting to her. When the connection that he'd made instantly finally sank in, she felt a little foolish at how obvious it was. When Davis was just a few feet away, his Digivice started to react, lighting up with the fiercest glow she'd seen yet.

Gradually, the rays of light seemed to disintegrate, gently lowering the Digimon inside to the ground. There was a moment, when the light had disappeared and the air was still, when they all seemed to be holding their breath. And then… Davis's Digimon partner opened his eyes.

 **…**

"What exactly is this place we're going to?" Takato kept his voice low, almost becoming suspicious in his effort to be inconspicuous.

The train car wasn't too busy anymore. It had slowly emptied out as they'd gotten farther and farther from the city. But when they'd first gotten on, at the peak of the rush hour, she'd been a little stressed too. They'd gotten a late start—the two had spent nearly an hour trying to puzzle out how they were going to transport Guilmon, coming to no real solutions. Ultimately, the problem had solved itself. Gatomon had been putting Takato's partner through some warrior training. (She didn't seem to have much luck; for all his beast-like characteristics and appearance, Guilmon wasn't shaping up to be much of a fighter.) At last, moaning pitifully about the length of time since his last meal, Guilmon had de-Digivolved to his in-training form, fitting nicely into Takato's backpack.

"I'm not entirely sure what makes it special, to be honest. But it's the summer camp where TK appeared when he came back the first time. And it's where we went the first time I… made the journey." Kari kept her voice down too, glancing around ever so subtly to double-check that no one was listening. "It's connected somehow, and I'm sure we'll be able to get through again."

Takato nodded, accepting her gut feeling without question. She had to admit, it helped her confidence, to have someone else so confident in her leadership.

By the time they reached their stop—that out-of-the-way little country town—they were the only ones left in their car. They took their time, letting the few other passengers get a head start. The doors slid shut and the train pulled away just seconds after they finally jumped off.

"So this is it, huh?" said Takato, looking around at the sleepy little cottages.

"We've still got a ways to go on foot," she answered. "The camp is past the town, up in the mountains. But yeah… This is it."

They stopped in the convenience store on the outskirts of town first, loading up on snacks that they then fed to Gigimon as soon as they were out of sight. Energy restored, Guilmon was back in no time, and she could tell Takato was pleased. She'd forgotten just how steep this climb was and was pleased herself that Gatomon was up to the task.

But they did make it up the hill and were strolling through the old abandoned summer camp before the sun had even set. She was aware of Takato behind her, a little awed as he took in their surroundings, just as she'd been the first time. She had no trouble finding her way back to that field where TK had opened up the gate to the Digital World.

Kari stood there for a moment and closed her eyes, letting the light breeze waft over her. Gatomon, at her side, said softly, "Can you feel it, Kari?"

"I think I can…" She pulled out her Digivice and _felt_ it begin to glow even before she'd opened her eyes again to see it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Takato pull out his Digivice as well.

It also started to glow, prompting whatever weak point there was in the barrier between the worlds to react as well. The portal began to grow before their eyes, and she smiled.

It was time. She was going back.

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **I have to say, my favorite scene to write was definitely the reunion one in the middle. In part because it was just a fun, happy scene. But also because the bigger the groups are, the easier it is to keep track of everyone. ^^' We're getting somewhere now.**


	25. Gennai

**I considered holding onto this one for another week… but my weeks get pretty busy, and I didn't trust myself not to forget about it and miss the moment anyway. ^^' So… Happy early anniversary! Can you believe this story is about to hit two years? I certainly can't… Let's wrap this up before we make it to a third, shall we?**

 **Thank you for reviewing chapter twenty-four:** Sweet Cari, Berry Doyle, Fruitloop Trooper, **and** dnofsunshine! **(And please never feel bad about your reviews being 'late'. For one, I'm just happy that you take the time to review at all! But also, as far as I'm concerned, you were right on time! I'd just gone back to double-check for any last-minute reviews when yours came in!)**

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: Gennai**

For the briefest of moments, their positions were swapped. The four of them were frozen, while the newly-awakened Digimon sprang into motion with a joyful shout. The little blue creature bounced around the room, exuberantly testing his muscles and voice. Until finally, he came to a stop in front of Davis, his eyes sparkling.

"Nice to meetcha! I'm Veemon!" He stuck out a surprisingly humanoid, five-fingered hand, and Davis shook it with something akin to awe.

"Veemon… And you're… my partner?" Davis's eyes were shining too, and the Digimon nodded.

"Of course! It was your Digivice that freed me from my prison. Only the bond between a Digidestined and their partner could have broken through those walls!"

Finally, Davis seemed to shake off his shock and joined Veemon as he continued bouncing around the room. How… typical. Rika felt the surprise wear our from her limbs as well. Well. Those two were perfect for each other. She doubted it was worth the effort to even try and curb their enthusiasm. It just had to run its course. She was just turning away from the spectacle they were creating… when something occurred to her.

"Hey, wait up a minute. … _Hey_!" she barked more sharply, and the two did halt their frolicking, blinking at her with identical confused expressions. "About what you said before—you called your egg a _prison_? What did you mean, exactly?"

Veemon cocked his head to the side. "I meant what I said. It wasn't really an _egg_ … More like a holding cell."

"So someone was holding you captive… Was it this Digimon Emperor I keep hearing about?"

Veemon startled at the sound of that name. "The Digimon Emperor?! Of course not! I'm talking about Gennai. I was specially created for Davis once all these problems with the Emperor started up. Then he put me to sleep… He said I'd wake back up when I could be of use. When my partner arrived. And I did."

She was sure this plan made perfect sense to the Digimon incarnate of Davis Motomiya, but to Rika it was just a little too… simple. Perhaps Davis had been right—this Gennai character was starting to seem more and more suspicious. "And he just left it up to chance? Trusted that we'd show up in just the right place? Do _you_ buy that?" she directed at Renamon.

"It does sound risky," he partner agreed—and sounding like she'd given it serious thought, too; Rika had to appreciate that.

Veemon, on the other hand, appeared to be contemplating this angle for the first time. "Huh. You know, maybe you're right. I only ever met Gennai that one time. I don't really know what his plan was. Just that I was created to help Davis."

"This seems to prove my theory," Centarumon murmured. (Rika jumped a little. She'd almost forgotten he was there.) He backed out of the room just enough to gesture to the giant mural in the previous one. Specifically, the extra figures depicted in the legend. "The replacement Digidestined's partners weren't even _created_ until they were needed… If that's the case, this Gennai doesn't sound like the type to leave much to chance."

Rika nodded. "That's what I thought. I bet he was planning to reawaken you himself… And if he didn't, something must have happened to Gennai."

Davis nodded, looking laser-focused all of a sudden. Up until this point, Rika had to admit that she'd viewed him a bit like dead weight. But now that he'd found his partner, it was like he'd found a new purpose. "Okay. Then let's go find Gennai."

 **…**

Despite all the screens and other technology, the Digimon Emperor's lair was a dark place. The glow from those screens only seemed to enhance the shadows and add to the eerie ambience. Many of his prisoners could no longer remember the light or warmth of the sun and would shy away from those sensations if ever they found themselves reintroduced. And now, even his sole human captive was beginning to feel quivers of weakness in his resilience.

His cell was separate from the actual prison—only fitting for the VIP, as the monster had once jokingly sneered. Today was one of the light days—something he'd never thought he'd one day dread—where the arena would be illuminated by the sort of lights that had once lit up his late-night soccer games and would, in turn, bring light to the room where the prisoner was held.

He no longer had the strength to pry off the strange wires the Emperor always hooked him up to. There was really nothing to gain from such a small rebellion so long as he was trapped in this room. The Digimon Emperor was not known for his patience, and the prisoner had already experienced the consequences of wasting his time, forcing him to set up his little experiments all over again.

But he was not too far gone to feel the pang of despair when his eyes adjusted and he caught sight of his partner lying on the arena floor, already appearing defeated and exhausted. And today's trial hadn't even begun. He clenched his fists. _Agumon…_

The door to the small viewing room flew open, and Tai turned his head to glare at his only visitor. His anger continued to burn bright, but if there was one way being worn down had aided him, it lay with his observational skills. Only the other day had it sunk in that the boy who stood before him actually seemed younger than Tai himself. Honestly, this had only added to his unease. As if it wasn't bad enough to have so much power in a maniac's hands. But an _inexperienced_ maniac… Well, he'd already been unpredictable.

If possible, he seemed even _more_ unhinged today. That cruel smile was still there, but his features looked a bit more twisted. Tai knew the eyes behind those dark glasses would be wild.

"Well, I guess we're going with Plan A after all." The Digimon Emperor was already in the process of ranting to himself as he entered the room, but he only appeared a little disgruntled. Usually that wicked smile was wiped away completely when things weren't going his way. "Perhaps it was a sign. I wouldn't want to overlook such a generous gift."

He snickered again, that high-pitched, crazy sound, and Tai gritted his teeth. This was his least favorite jab… because he knew it was true. He had no one to blame but himself for putting them both in this situation. If he hadn't rushed in here, overconfidence oozing out of him, determined to save them all single-handedly… In the end, the crests had not been as easy to activate as he'd thought. And Agumon had been the one to suffer…

He couldn't stop the shudder from passing through him as he recalled SkullGreymon's first rampage. _He'd_ been the one to give the Emperor the idea to try and force the crests to work. They'd been imprisoned as soon as his partner ran out of energy… and the Digimon Emperor had been trying to repeat the process ever since. Tai didn't pretend to understand all the technical aspects of this world—he'd always left all that up to Izzy—but apparently it was rather finicky. Or else, there was just some step he'd missed entirely. Sometimes, their captor couldn't make the connection activate no matter what he tried. And sometimes, all it seemed to take was the click of a button before that dreadful transformation would begin again.

The Digimon Emperor had not yet cracked the final code—he'd never succeeded in _controlling_ SkullGreymon's power. But watching his partner being subjected to such cruelty day after day was tearing Tai apart, and he was starting to wonder how much abuse a Digimon's code could take. If this kept up, would Agumon be _literally_ torn apart?

He strained against his bindings, knowing it was futile even before the shock rippled through him. His captor didn't even spare him a glance, setting about his preparations. Tai had never been able to make sense of the data running across the screens—just that it always picked up in speed and intensity in the moments before Agumon was affected, usually accompanied by a paralyzing sort of tingle in his core.

But today, it didn't seem to be working for him. Every command he tried to input was immediately intercepted by some wall. One failed attempt after another, the boy quickly lost patience, finally slamming his fist down hard enough to make every screen rattle. "What's going on?! The system was fine yesterday!"

Tai wasn't sure who he was barking orders at, exactly, but another voice answered through the tinny speakers. "Uh, there doesn't seem to be enough power, sir. The signals won't connect."

Before this particular lackey Digimon could remove his finger (or paw?) from the button broadcasting his voice, one of his fellows suggested in a poor attempt at a whisper, "You don't think this could be related to the disturbance we felt from _him_ , do you?"

A handful of other voices shushed him before the sound cut out. Tai couldn't make sense of these worries, but clearly it meant something to the Digimon Emperor. The other boy stiffened up, a hoarse, "Impossible!" escaping his lips. But whatever had him so shaken must not have _actually_ been impossible. He strode towards Tai a second later, and Tai felt that familiar stab of dread before the drowsiness started up again, and the system he was attached to shut him down once more.

 **…**

Henry wasn't sure how long the first stage of this reunion went on. At first it was just incoherent exclamations and hugging. After a time, they all tried to speak at once, but they hadn't yet managed to untangle themselves. After a moment, they devolved into laughter at this chaos. Their second attempt was equally unsuccessful.

Henry found it quite sweet—relaxing, after the ordeal they'd just been through—but he could feel Terriermon getting antsy. He took a step towards the cottage door, which the newest boy had left open in his haste. He didn't plan on going in without an invitation; it just gave him something to do. But the movement drew the attention of the others.

They finally pulled apart. Joe gave a mirthful little laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry, Henry. I guess more introductions are in order."

He shook Izzy's hand, was pleased by his steady gaze. Izzy was the 'resident computer geek,' from what he'd heard. He seemed a bit more put-together than the other two, which was reassuring. Henry hated not having all the answers.

Izzy ushered them all inside, where there was just barely room for them all to stand. (Terriermon remained perched on Henry's shoulders, and Gomamon allowed Joe to pick him up, but the other partners were just a bit too big.) Every single wall seemed to be lined with long tables and desks, which were in turn piled high with papers, books, computers or computer pieces… The only spaces were the doorways, and even those were cluttered with the stuff overflowing from every surface. Henry's endeavor not to step on anything was quickly lost.

"I tracked Gennai here," Izzy explained. He went straight for one of the computers, and they were all a bit impressed that he'd managed to find it again in this mess. "Or, that was the idea, at least. He's not actually here, and I haven't been able to make sense of any of his programs yet. But there was someone else here waiting for me…"

He shifted over a bit, and Henry caught sight of another Digimon he hadn't even realized was there. Another bug Rookie, though this one was green. "This is Wormmon. And," Izzy raised his eyebrows for emphasis, "he's the Digimon Emperor's partner!"

Joe's eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! That's what Henry was saying—that the Digimon Emperor was actually meant to be one of the Digidestined."

Wormmon perked up a little. "You know Ken?"

"Uh, no," Henry answered awkwardly. "We've never actually met. My friends and I just figured out who he was. Ken Ichijouji," he filled in for Mimi and Izzy. "Back home, he's lauded as this child prodigy. He's always in the news for winning awards and breaking records… Ken's a replacement too, actually. His older brother was meant to be the tenth Digidestined the first time around, but he died the night you all made the journey."

Izzy's disappointment at having the thunder stolen out from under his news was quick to disappear in the face of new information. "Interesting… Very interesting…"

The red-haired boy's brows furrowed. He brought a hand up to his chin, a look of deep thought taking over his features. Mimi sighed and brought her own hand up to her hip, looking like this was all too familiar. "Well, would you care to share with the rest of us, Izzy? _What_ , exactly, is so interesting?"

"Ah, right, sorry. I just have to wonder if Ken is the rightful successor after all… We've already proven that the crests' power can be passed down. I saw it firsthand with Cody, and I'm guessing you two can say the same. But Wormmon was just telling me that all these problems with the crests being corrupted is because Ken _can't_ activate his. He hacked in and has been experimenting with the others."

"So maybe Ken intercepted the position?" Henry picked up the thought for him. "It's kind of a long story, but… Cody's grandfather had Sam Ichijouji's Digivice. He tried to give it to Ken, who duplicated it somehow. I can't say I really know how the Digivices work… but maybe it read Ken's DNA and thought it was close enough to Sam's?"

"Maybe," Izzy agreed. "And that's not the only mystery. Sam never made it to the Digital World, so how did he already have his Digivice?"

"I didn't even think of that," said Joe. " _We_ only got our Digivices after we arrived."

Mimi sighed. "There's still so many questions. I don't know how you deal with all these puzzles, Izzy; _my_ head's already spinning!"

"Someone has to do it." Izzy had already turned back to the screen and didn't look the least bit perturbed. "I love a good puzzle, personally."

"Well, I prefer work that's a little more straightforward," Mimi replied, crinkling her nose as gravity took its effect on a stack of files across the room that no one had so much as nudged. "And speaking of… I should be getting back. Yolei's looking after a castle about a day's walk from here. Palmon and I have been gathering reinforcements, sending them her way whenever we run into Digimon who are still willing to fight."

"Like a volunteer army," said Joe, his eyes lighting up a bit. "That could be really good, especially while we're all still so spread out like this."

Mimi nodded, pleased. "I don't think we can afford to wait much longer. Apparently, the Digimon Emperor has a prison attached to his base where he's been collecting Digimon for his experiments. We have to free them!"

Joe nodded. "You're right. And it sounds like you'll need as much help as you can get. I'll go with you."

Wormmon jumped down from the desk to join them. "I should be getting back too. I'm worried about Ken. He seemed to be getting worse when I left. I can show you the way. I don't know how useful I'll be, but I want to help any way I can."

"I'm going to stay here with Izzy," Henry decided. "Maybe we'll be able to figure it out together. And I want to be here if Cody gets back in touch. A lot has happened since he last saw his friends."

It felt strange to be splitting up already when they'd just had their happy reunion, but there was too much to do, too many of their friends who'd slowly fallen behind in their discoveries. They each needed to be where they could be of the most use. He felt like he and Izzy were on similar wavelengths. …He wasn't so sure how he felt about jumping back into battle so soon.

So they said their goodbyes, Izzy promising to try and find a way to connect their Digivices like cell phones. But they all knew that was later down on the list of priorities. Instead, Izzy turned back to what seemed to be the main computer. "I was able to hack into Ken's system once and see the data he's collected on each of our crests—so he can keep track of our crests as they're being brought back to life—but I wouldn't risk doing it again just yet. I'm not surprised he's regarded as a genius in your… in our world. If his system's anything to go by, Ken _is_ a really smart kid. I think we got away with it the first time, but he's bound to catch on if we keep at it."

Henry let his slip-up pass by without comment. He couldn't say it would surprise him to learn that all the older kids felt disconnected from their old world. It was just all the more reason to hurry up and get everyone back home.

"Anyway, I've switched tracks," Izzy went on. "I'm trying to get to the bottom of Gennai's operating system itself. Something's just not right here. I'm _sure_ I was tracking Gennai's coordinates himself, but he's nowhere to be found—just his equipment."

"Maybe he doesn't always exist," Terriermon suggested. He'd gotten down from Henry's shoulder when the others had left and was now casually picking through some of the papers on the floor, as if looking for clues. "You said he always appeared to you guys as a hologram, right? Maybe that's all he is."

"You mean he's just a simple program?" Tentomon asked. "Like he's on a timer or something?"

Terriermon shrugged. "Or maybe you guys triggered him by going to certain places or doing certain things. You know, like events in video games."

Tentomon cocked his head to the side. "…What's a video game?"

Izzy and Henry hummed in unison, their own brainstorming fueled by their partners' chatter. Izzy quickly clicked through a few screens. "I was working on unraveling the system when you all arrived. When you reach a certain level, it requires a password… It looks like we get three tries before we're locked out. For how long, I'm not sure. And I'd rather not find out."

Terriermon perked up. "See! I bet that sets off the next message! It's auta… What do you call it, Henry?"

"Automated," he answered absentmindedly, scrutinizing their surroundings a little more carefully. "But I don't think so. All these hard copies of his data… three attempts at getting the password right… It all feels distinctly… human. Why would a computer program need a whole cottage in the first place?"

"You're right," said Izzy, reappraising the screen before him. "But honestly, that might make this impossible! That means a human being is at work behind Gennai… People tend to choose passwords that revolve around things that are of personal importance. Without knowing who's controlling Gennai, we'll never be able to guess what he set as the password, no matter how many tries we're given."

Henry couldn't help feeling like the answer was right under his nose… But was his hunch too simple? "Izzy… how many characters is it asking for?"

The older boy clicked around for a minute before replying, "Seven, why?"

The idea grew firmer in his mind, expanding until it left no room for other possibilities. This was a dangerous mindset, he knew, but if he was right… His voice was equally firm. "Try 'Shibumi.'"

Izzy didn't ask any questions, just did as Henry asked. They both held their breath when he hit Enter. For a while, nothing happened… but they weren't immediately rejected. And then the entire building began to shake. The four all rushed to brace themselves against something stable, a flurry of dislodged papers blocking their vision. Did the Digital World _have_ earthquakes? Was it a coincidence that it had begun right after they'd attempted a password? Was this meant to signal that they'd been right, or wrong?

There was nothing to do until the shouting subsided, and they slowly got to their feet in the sudden stillness. It took a moment for anyone to realize what had changed underneath all the mess… until Tentomon nearly fell _into_ the hole in the floor.

"Whoa!" He caught himself and fluttered back up, causing another stir in the mess. Once it settled down for the second time, they were finally able to see the staircase that had sunk down through the stone floor. Izzy and Henry shared a bewildered look before getting to their feet and starting the journey down in silence.

There were no lights, so they braced themselves against the walls. There'd been no indication that there was anything more to the cottage's floor, and it was impossible to guess what was awaiting them below.

Henry caught sight of a room big enough to span the entire house upstairs that seemed to be acting as a library. But he didn't have time to absorb much before his gaze was captured by a solitary figure seated behind a desk at the other end of the room. He stopped abruptly at the end of the stairs and had to stumble forward another step when Izzy bumped into him.

The two boys and two Digimon stood there awkwardly at the foot of the staircase, Henry's eyes widening at the familiar face smiling serenely at them.

"Hello, Henry," Shibumi said at last, breaking the silence. "I thought you might be the first to find me."

 **Review please!**

 **I don't own Digimon.**

 **Here's another friendly reminder that your author is not a master hacker. ^^ I'm trying to keep Izzy true to character, but that feels a little awkward sometimes when it comes to the real tech-y stuff where he's supposed to shine.**


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